Predicted Rating: 3.5 stars
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller. Starring: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne and Dave Franco.
Living in a quiet, suburban neighbourhood, the last thing that Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) expect to move in next door is a fraternity house. In attempt to recapture their youth, Mac and Kelly attempt to befriend the heads of the frat house, Teddy (Efron) and Pete (Franco). However, with a young child, Mac and Kelly grow increasingly frustrated with the number of late night parties. It then turns into a cat and mouse battle between the two housed to gain neighbourhood superiority.
I thought this film, for the most part, was pretty funny. However, there were one or two times when the jokes step over the line in order to produce what I call "shock and horror" laughs as opposed to being witty and clever. In my opinion there is still a place in movies for dick and fart jokes but you have to be somewhat subtle about them, however subtlety is generally not the American's strong suit. Case in point in this film, there was a scene in the movie where the frat house had to raise funds to repair their house. To do so, they decide to make female sex toys molded from their own penis'. In the context of the film, I thought this was hilarious. There was a funny quip with James Franco using a 3D printer and also the joke that Christopher Mintz-Plasse's character has an abnormally large penis. Funny at the time, but when you mention this fact every five minutes for the rest of the movie it loses it cleverness. It did however remind me during the viewing that I have a peculiar sense of humour because the cinema erupted with laughter during the "shock and horror" laughs and I found myself laughing on my own after a few obscure references were made.
Expanding on me laughing at inappropriate points, I was astounded by the amount of people who either have not watched the trailer or have the memory of a goldfish. I was ready to go on another rant about one of my pet peeves, the best parts of the movie being spoiled in the trailer, when the scene with the airbags was coming up. When Rose Byrne opened the door of her car to discover that her steering wheel had been tampered with, someone behind me went hmfff, as if to say, well that's peculiar, I wonder what is happening. What?! Have you been living under a rock for the past 2 months? I have seen the trailer multiple times at the start of other movies as well as it being plastered over prime time TV. Then, when Seth Rogen sat in the chair with the airbag, literally everyone in the cinema jumped and then erupted in laughter. Wait a minute, I am flabbergasted. Yes I found this funny three months ago when I first saw it but it has lost its charm. Again, another theory of mine that has gone flying out the window.
I thought the breakout star of this film was definitely Zac Efron. He was by far the funniest person in this film. His performance, whilst nowhere near as good, can be compared to Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street. They were both previously seen as guys who were cast in rom-coms and tween movies purely on the basis of their good looks as eye candy for the female audience. However, both have proven that they can act and can be funny. I would love to see Efron cast in more comedies from here on out.
Overall: Pretty funny but lacks the wit to be classified in the top echelon of comedies. 3 stars
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