In 2014’s surprisingly side-splitting Bad Neighbours, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne found parenthood at odds with the lifestyle of the frat house next door. Since then, a generation gap has emerged, one which even sees the couple’s former nemesis Zac Efron considered one of the ‘old people’ by the young sorority setting up shop on the property he once lorded over. That’s something that speaks to the swift cycles of college turnover, and allows the sequel to focus on the rights of young women to party hard – but safe from awful dudes.
While essentially a retread of the first film, the addition of a female skew, led by Chloë Grace Moretz, offers something new, and this depiction of young college women who like to have a good time is a million miles away from the excesses of Spring Breakers. Still, if you’re expecting most jokes not to come from Seth Rogen being fat and liking weed, Rose Byrne saying unexpected filth, or Zac Efron acting super-dumb, you’ve come to the wrong place.
Fortunately, all the above still provide sufficient comic mileage to make it through a welcomely-economical 92-minute running time. The belly laugh quota may not be as high as Bad Neighbours, but there are plenty of chuckles to be had amid the seemingly effortless chemistry of the cast. Similarly the anarchic, out-of-control nature of the original can’t quite be recaptured, and again the short number of years between films feels much greater – Bad Neighbours 2 coming across almost nostalgic at times, as if it’s for the younger generation represented by Moretz.
You’re not likely to get drug jokes, slapstick, a dildo-loving toddler and positive gender attitudes in any other above-average comedy sequel though.
‘Bad Neighbours 2’ Movie Times
