Bad Neighbours 2

Starring: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Chloe Grace Moretz
Directed By: Nicholas Stoller
Written By: Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien, Nicholas Stoller, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg

Reviewed by Brendan Dousi

[rating: 3/5]
There’s a lot to enjoy in Bad Neighbours 2 (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising in the US). I was a really big fan of the first one; it surprised me and ended up being one of my favourite films of 2014. A lot of the same brand of humour is back as Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) finally find someone to buy their house, but a 30 day escrow period is complicated when college freshman Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) decides to open up a Sorority next door under the unorthodox guidance of former Fratboy Teddy (Zac Efron).  The humour is frequently laugh-inducing with a mostly witty script and some great slap stick, but there is one glaring element in particular that prevent this sequel from living up to its predecessor.

The problem is a tricky one, one I imagine the five male screenwriters came across numerous times when writing this film, and that is ‘feminism’. The problem isn’t with feminism itself, obviously, or its inclusion in the script. In fact, I really appreciate the idea of having a Sorority and making it more empowering to women, rather than fluffy, pink and catering to men. No, the problem here is that the writers want to have their cake and eat it too. They want you to laugh at feminism, using it as a way to justify the extreme actions of these misguided teenage girls, while also asking you to take it seriously and accept it as the overall message of the Shelby-side of the story. It creates this weird disconnect that leaves a less than desirable taste in your mouth. Do these guys actually believe in what they’re having their characters say? Or, as it kind of feels like while watching the film, do they just have a pro-feminism message in there so that they can justify having a scene where the Sorority flings used tampons at their neighbours house and then scream ‘Sexism’ when they’re called out on it? It just doesn’t quite sit right.

Besides this, though, the film can be a lot of fun and clearly everyone involved is having a ball. Chloe Grace Moretz as Shelby carries the Sorority side of the story on her shoulders and is a solid anchor, despite being given questionable material every now and then. Zac Efron as Teddy is given a wonderful little arc about finding his true purpose, while including an amazingly cute little sub-plot with his best friend Pete (Dave Franco). Also, yes, he gets his abs out. A lot.  It’s Zac Efron guys, you know the drill. Then we have the main draw of this film, which is the superb chemistry between Seth Rogen’s Mac and Rose Byrne’s Kelly. They are every bit as delightful, funny and relatable as they were in the first. This time dealing with a second pregnancy, a vibrator-stealing toddler and potential financial bankruptcy thanks to that bloody Sorority! Rose Byrne in particular cements herself as a power-house comedic talent with impeccable timing and delivery. She is now my spirit animal.

Bad Neighbours 2 is definitely not as focused as its predecessor and suffers from a mishandling of themes, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a laugh-out-loud romp with wonderful, familiar characters and some great slap-stick fun. If you were a fan of the first, be sure to check this one out!