Review: funny, energetic and unapologetic frat fest

“Neighbors” is stupid, loud, insensitive, crude and insatiably rude. But that doesn’t stop the film from being a deliciously filthy intergenerational war, with great performances and plenty of laughs.

“Neighbors” centers on a married couple, Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne). While trying to adjust to the tedium of grown-up life, they struggle with a massive fraternity moving in next door. After trying to quell the rowdy students by joining their parties, they call the cops after too many loud nights; they get on bad terms and the fraternity starts tormenting them.

Rogen and Byrne have great chemistry as the couple. Rogen brings his familiar stoner persona and improv skills to the table, and Byrne is able to really roll with the punches. She even outshines her veteran comedic co-star on occasion with an unexpected potty mouth and some solid zingers.

Zac Efron plays Teddy, the sociopathic ringleader of the fraternity, and it’s his best performance to date. I know that’s a weak compliment given his shallow track record, but the arrogant swagger and domineering personality of his character are well executed. Also, his comedic timing and delivery are spot-on.

Efron is perfectly complemented by the rest of the fraternity, especially the vice president, Pete (Dave Franco). Every scene Teddy and Pete share turns into a hilarious bro-fest where manly love, testosterone and profanity spill out of the screen.

Actually, every scene with the fraternity brothers is gold. Their insane hijinks and colorful exchanges garner the biggest laughs. Whether it be selling homemade dildos or having Robert Di Nero parties, there is never a dull moment with these guys.

To appreciate the comedy, you have to have a thick skin and an acquired taste for the raunchy. I mean that in a good way — the film has a refreshingly gleeful and carefree spirit with its use of profanity and shock value. It rarely feels cheap or gross for the sake of being gross (except for a certain breast milking scene). Just about every dildo, joint and f-word is used for a good slap on the funny bone.

The few instances where the film’s comedy drags are when the couple get separated from the rest of the narrative. Byrne and Rogen have a lots of isolated gags filled with excessive improvisation that are a bit too long.

Nicholas Stoller is no stranger to directing comedies, having already helmed films like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him To The Greek.” He knows just how to frame each joke and control the pace to give the film a nice bumpy energy. He really gets creative with his shots. There is a fun POV party sequence, plenty of manic amgles and an unexpectedly attractive color scheme. The film can be a little too fast paced at times, rushing through story progressions, but it’s not a big deal.

The real problem is with the story surrounding the hilarity. There are many times where the film attempts to add layers to the narrative and characters. It’s just that every potentially deep story thread is poorly introduced and quickly dropped.

A rather touching bond between Teddy and Mac is teased and then forgotten. The couple begins to question their maturity and relationship, but run back into each other’s arms and return to their childish ways in the next scene. A jarring change in tone has Peter become a bright student and lecture Teddy on the pointlessness of college partying. This is only a sample of the film’s broken plot points.

There are too many characters, themes and ideas being jammed alongside the multitude of jokes for any real development to occur. This doesn’t make the film bad; it just keeps any significant heart or emotional resonance to flourish.

The ending is also rather abrupt. There isn’t much closure; it doesn’t feel like anybody learned a lesson and the couple get away with doing some pretty terrible things.

Despite failings of the script, I laughed enough to give this film a recommendation. There are pretty consistent chuckles throughout the run-time and a few big hitters that had me cackling.

This had the potential to be a great comedy with engaging characters and a touching story. Oh well, we still get a funny, energetic and unapologetic frat fest.