Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

The writter/ director unintentionally made to much effort to make you cringe during the movie, not to laugh. I hated the actress Chloë Grace Moretz just for her role. From now on, when I see Chloë Grace Moretz I think of Shelby the brat college kid with no ethics. Not a good move for your carrer, sweetie. BTW, have you counted so many times they mention the word "sexist"? Yes, they made women's rights a bad-written movie joke. Bravo!

I could take or leave Bad Neighbours like I could take or leave Police Academy - an undemanding, but essentially funny, comedy which delivered the goods in terms of laughs and performances. Like Police Academy, however, you have to ask whether you could make a decent sequel based on such a thin premise.

The answer here is no.

For a start, bearing in mind the contrived way they're crowbarred into events, neither Seth Rogan or Rose Byrne actually contribute any significant to the plot or develop as characters; in fact, their appearances amounts to little more than glorified cameos, and strained ones at that; and although Byrne actually tries (and is OK for it), Rogan appears happy to coast it - indulged by a script and director who are unable (or unwilling) to actually give him something to do.

Zac Efron's storyline is actually more interestng; the former college golden boy, now cast adrift and vulnerable after his graduation; unfortunately, rather than dwell on his (self inflicted) misfortunes he is soon submerged into Chloe Grace Moretz's and co's train wreck of an all female frat house....and almost as quickly jettisoned, in yet another plot contrivance, so he can join forces with Byrne and Rogan.

How much of the film's social commentary is true of the US today I cannot say - I know about much about the in and outs of American Universities as I do about US property laws - but I seriously doubt that today's frat houses are run like crossovers between strip bars, sawdust joints and National Lampoon's Animal House (a far funnier film, incidentally).

The film has a fairly liberal agenda and various social hypocracies are railed against - in relation to dope smoking, alcohol abuse, arbitrary law enforcement, moral panics and treatment of women...but the alternatives proposed here (if you can call them that) in today's climate are uncomfortable to watch, or inappropriate, are out of tune with the supposed values being pushed. And they are just downright unfunny for the most part, as is the endless bad language.

The film tries to tick so many boxes, it soon loses focus on what the storyline is actually supposed to be about. Byrne, Efron and Selena Gomez (in a small cameo) actual get pass marks for decent performances...but the rest is a confused, lazy attempt to retread the first part.

I hope there's no part 3.

Who thought of the concept of "buckets of money"? That is idiotic in the extreme. A bucket of pennies is worth much less than a bucket of $100 dollar bills (stuffed tight). Nobody in their right mind would rent a house based on "buckets of money." They would always insist on a set dollar amount. I'm willing to suspend disbelief about everything else in the movie, but that is too much.

Is it moronic? Yes Is it a bad film? Er, no.....well maybe. Quirky, funny, laugh out loud in parts. We all know Seth, ha, Zac Efron: great comedy actor, and Frasier Crane's cameo, class. Come on guys, lighten up.

I'll give this a 6/10 because it's still a solid high budget comedy starring some great talent.

The issue was too many jokes fell flat. The sorority sisters did not say or do anything I can remember laughing at.

The material was really weak. I love absurd random humor (Family Guy or basically any other Seth Rogen film), but some of the randomness in this film just lacked anything I found funny. Even worse, is that some of the randomness used in plot points really made you disconnected from the entire film and not care.

As I watched this film, I remembered how despite the shallow plot of Neighbors, I still loved it and it pulled me in. The fraternity was interesting and funny. In contrast, the sorority of Neighbors 2 lacked any good jokes. The sorority sisters actually managed to pull off something that no actors have ever done in all of history. They were so unfunny, they almost made Seth Rogen not funny.

On the plus side, It's only 90 minutes and I don't remember ever feeling bored or sleepy during the movie or wanting to walk out early. So for that this movie has earned a solid 6/10.