Neighbors

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne star in Neighbors as Mac and Kelly Radner, a couple with a new baby and the neighbors from Hell. Shortly after getting settled into their new home, the Radners found out a fraternity is moving next door. The new Neighbors are led by a cocky and unruly fraternity president, Teddy (Zac Efron). After a few noise disturbances, the Radner wages a war against the band of brothers. Rogen co-produced Neighbors alongside his childhood friend, Evan Goldberg, and This Is The End (2013) producer, James Weaver.

In true Seth Rogen form, Neighbors possesses inappropriate, radical humor, excessive nudity, and shameless impressions, creating non-stop laughter. Also, in alignment with other Seth Rogen movies like Knocked Up (2007), there’s always a deeper issue besides the goofs and giggles. However, once you get to the serious climax you are already so exhausted from unwarranted laughter that the bulk of the plot gets swept under the rug.

I appreciate Seth Rogen’s consistency though. From The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) to Neighbors, he has literally plays himself in every movie. Rogen has lost some weight but he’s still the same old Seth. The most notable characteristics, like consistency, are sometimes criticized by main stream media. But, I truly admire his work.

It’s necessary to take a few moments to discuss the impeccable physique of Zac Efron. Ripped straight from page 36 of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, the actor is flawless. The movie makes its own jabs at Efron’s attractiveness, but he’s nothing too shy of a young Mel Gibson. The 26-year-old might be one of the most beautiful men I have ever laid eyes on. (Ok, that’s enough!)

Other than Maya Rudolph, black actors, specifically female comedians, have yet to infiltrate the world of mainstream comedies in the new millennium. Stepbrothers (2008), Anchorman (2004), Pineapple Express (2008), Superbad (2007) and other new millennium amusing films don’t have any African Americans in leading roles. Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, and now, Kevin Hart literally created their own genre of comedy movies to cater to the Black people.

Saturday Night Live’s last slavery stunt with comedienne Leslie Jones is a prime example of how White America doesn’t not fully comprehend the integration of African American comedy and sensitivity. I got the joke! I even chuckled at the joke! But the full execution of the skit was poorly timed and confusingly aggressive. Jones’ look was a complete mess, which made the skit almost unbearable to watch. SNL creators should have flagged that segment with stupidity and corniness before it aired.

3.5 Stars: Neighbors should come with a bold disclaimer. Although extremely humorous, the movie is highly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. But what else did you expect from Seth Rogen and his team of racy creators? The movie is in theatres Friday, May 9th.