Zac Efron tries to shed further his High School Musical image in Bad Neighbours.Bad Neighbours (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 97 minutes
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Halston Sage
KRS release
Director Nicholas Stoller, who had delivered the hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, hits gold with Bad Neighbours. The film is well-planned and the two main stars balance each other well. The teaming up of Zac Efron and Seth Rogen is perfect as they bring along many laugh-out-loud moments.
Mac and Kelly (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) are a perfectly happily married couple who have moved into the suburbs in order to make sure their baby daughter grows up in a safe environment. The couple’s life has been disrupted in more ways than one but over all they seem to be turning into mature adults.
Everything changes when the Delta Psi Fraternity moves into the house next door. The fraternity is led by the cocky Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco).
Despite realising they have grown old, Mac and Kelly want to look cool with their neighbours but also want them to keep the noise level down.
At first the couple and the fraternity try to get along, but when Mac and Kelly bring in the cops after a mid-week loud party, the two sides go to war with each other. Mac and Kelly strive to make sure that the fraternity makes all kinds of mistakes, especially when they learn that the fraternity is two disciplinary strikes away from disbandment.
The film is not about storytelling; it’s about upping the ante, about watching two sides facing off each other in an insanely no-holds-barred ridiculously hilarious manner. The pacing is fast, gung-ho and has a no-nonsense, no-frills approach to the proceedings.
Efron has come a long way from the High School Musical times. He has proved to have a good screen presence even in movies which were not so worthy. Here he gives a surprise performance as he seems to play on his teen roguish charm but turns it all upside down. His character is not nice at all, but Efron makes it his own, moving even further away from ex-teen idol role.
The film is well-planned and the two main stars balance each other well
Rogen’s character, on the other hand, sees in Efron a reflection of his past self and he wants to bash this image to bits. Byrne, who is usually so cute, here is over the top in her approach as she embraces her manic role gleefully. The trio really fit into the comic pacing of the script by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien.
Then there is Lisa Kudrow who provides a good supporting turnout as the college dean faced by a situation that seems beyond her control.
The film’s strength also lies in its gags as these are unpredictable and are full of slapstick exuberant violence. Overall, this film is a huge variation over the college comedy movie formula and by the end you will leave the cinema aching from the laughs.