Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and Rose Byrne who reprise their roles from the first Neighbors released in 2014, Neighbors 2 is a fairly good but not great sequel that follows a very similar plot line as the original. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne play a married couple with a young daughter who are trying to sell their house but run into trouble when a new rowdy sorority moves in next door. The only major twist from the original is that they are a group of feminist-minded girls who just want to party instead of a group of frat brothers led by Zac Efron. The movie does have some really funny moments that tend to be vulgar humor with references to sex and drugs. However, I found the movie to be less vulgar and perhaps not as funny as the original movie. The film diverges from most vulgar comedies by underscoring aspects of feminism. The sorority led by Chlöe Grace Moretz’s character is founded to distance from the conventional sexist fraternity parties and sororities with girls concerned with their vanity. They are trying to create their own group that just lets the young women be themselves and party on their own merits outside of male influence. Also, unlike most comedies that would make fun of homosexuality, the film nonchalantly talks about a character’s best friend and fraternity brother getting married to another man. Overall, Neighbors 2 is a funny but not perfect sequel to the original and brings up interesting issues unexpected for a crude comedy.
KEITH on Reels 