Girls just want to fight for their right to party!
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Written by: Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien
Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Chloe Grace Moretz
Swift shot: The raunch-com sequel you’ve been waiting for has just moved into theaters with a gender-bender twist on the classic college freak fest we’ve all been guzzling up for decades. Nicholas Stoller delivers the most inappropriate laughs you’ll see this year, and if you’ve got the stomach for it, I doubt you’ll find anything raunchier or more off-color than Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising! Fans of the original will be delighted that this wasn’t as formulaic as other sequels that I won’t name here.
Our favorite ridiculously inept “together” couple, The Radners (Rogen and Byrne), are back, and this time they have put the house up for sale and are ready to move to a more secluded location. They have another little bun in the oven, and they aren’t doing that great at raising baby Stella, as it is, so God only knows how they’ll handle a new kid. At least they have the sense to get the hell out of fraternity row. Their realtor has found a buyer, with one caveat, something called “escrow.”
These idiots haven’t got a clue what that is, which is actually a great scene that reminded me of my realtor friends trying to explain to buyers how it works. The Radners are clueless, but they finally get the grasp that they need to keep the place intact, and problem free, for at least 30 days while the buyers have a chance to pull out of the deal. Thing is, they didn’t get escrow on the new place they bought, so if the deal doesn’t go through, they will wind up having two houses. They can’t afford that, especially not with a new kid on the way.
Now, timing is everything in comedy, and their old nemesis Teddy Sanders (Efron) has just found out his best friend is getting married, and that means he will be out on his barefoot ass before long. Plus, Teddy’s finally come to terms with the fact that he has no value, unlike his successful friends. In the meantime, a group of awkward progressively feminist girls has decided to form their own sorority, and you know right where they intend to set up their house . . . next to The Radners. With the coordinated help of former frat God, Teddy, Kappa Nu is born.
The girls of Kappa Nu are really a trio of core founders: Shelby (Moretz); Beth (Kiersey Clemons); and Nora (Beanie Feldstein). The girls are tired of all the rules benefiting the frats and crapping all over the sororities. In fact, apparently only frats are allowed to throw Greek parties on campus which sets the whole plot in motion and leads to the social commentary that oddly doesn’t make the film a boring panjandrum. These girls are just so incredibly brash and weird, you can’t help loving them . . . even when they do crap that defies all morals.
My favorite addition to the flick was Kappa Nu’s minions, they were always good for a chuckle. But, to be honest I didn’t ‘chuckle’ that much watching Sorority Rising, I laughed loud and heartily, and I must have said “Oh . . . my . . . God” at least ten times. The comedy relies on the shock factor, so, prepare to be disturbed. If you could handle the first Neighbors, I think you will be ok with Sorority Rising.
With all the classic dick jokes and some new (let’s say colorful) chick jokes in the midst, this movie is sure to find its way to your personal inventory. As you watch the young vs. the old, the smart vs. the stupid, and the eager vs. the lazy do battle, believe it or not, there’s actually a solid message thrown in at the end about what parenting is and what value means. But, really, you aren’t watching this flick to learn shit. Just go see it and enjoy!
