Review: Bad Neighbours

Review: Bad Neighbours (2014)

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Principal Cast Members: Seth Rogan, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron and Dave Franco

On the face of it Bad Neighbours is almost exactly the type of comedy you'd expect from the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek. There are laughs to spare and plenty of gross out moments although don't expect to be talking about such menial things such as character development. Right from the off the film is both hilarious and slightly awkward, as well as instantly show casing Seth Rogan's impressive improvisation skills which become one of the key aspects of the film. In a similar vein to Love Punch, Bad Neighbours is primarily about growing up and it's interesting to see Rogan in what could be classed as one of his first officially adult roles. Sporting her natural Australian accent it's nice to see that Rose Byrne gets her chance to be more then eye candy and actually gets to deliver some of the films main laughs. The younger cast members do not all fare quite as well, Christopher Mintz-Plasse has surely done enough in his career by now to earn more than just a glorified extra role and while it's nice to see Submarine's Craig Roberts get a Hollywood gig he can surely hope for more in the future. It's not all bad for the youngsters though, Dave Franco continues his career building with another strong comedy role and surely by now James will know he's got stiff competition for most talented member of the Franco film family. And then there's Zac Efron, who has split the young generation between those that love him and those that despise that kid from High School Musical, something which actually makes him perfect for the leader of the frat. Required to be both likable and a bit of a dick at the same time Efron seems to be having a ball and has enough charm to keep the role interesting. As mentioned earlier there are plenty of laughs on offer, some work some don't, but while falling short of been extremely funny Bad Neighbours is sure to be a crowd pleaser.