Neighbors 2 is another sequel that was made on the heels of the original mainly because it was so successful that the studio thought its success justify another one. However, it falls under the category of a long list of sequels that we didn’t ask for or even wanted.
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are back as young parents about ready to give birth to their second child when three female college girls move in next door and form their own sorority. Chloe Grace Moretz leads the pack in a group called Kappa Nu whose only sole purpose is to party, party, and more party.
Rogen and Byrne are selling their house at the beginning of the film and have only 30 to close escrow, but the sorority poses a threat due to their rambunctious activities. Zac Efron returns as the only male member of the sorority and his character has two different story lines and neither of which are the least bit executed in a satisfying fashion.
As typical, the movie provides a lot of gross-out humor in addition to idiotic dialogue, but this movie never really got me laughing. I did like a scene involving Rogen and Efron getting locked in a garage and using an airbag as a way of escape. That scene alone earns its laughs.
Overall, I felt the movie was tired and its leads didn’t really have the energy to embrace the silliness. Instead of going for true laughs, it sticks to a tried-and-true formula throughout. Not to mention, Efron is 0-2 with comedy this year after the massive disaster known as Dirty Grandpa.
I guess the only thing left to say is that if you liked the first film, you may be tempted to see this one and enjoy it. If you didn’t like the first one, well, then you won’t feel any different. And if you were forced into seeing it, chances are you didn’t have anything else better to do.
Grade: C
(Rated R for crude sexual content including brief graphic nudity, language throughout, drug use and teen partying.)
