Seth Rogen Delivers His Special Breed of Comedy in “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”

From the guys that brought you “This is the End” and “Neighbors” comes Nicholas Stoller’s newest film “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” The film stars Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, and Chloë Grace Moretz.

“Neighbors 2” takes place roughly a year after the events of the first “Neighbors” movie and the fraternity next door has long been since moved out. Now, with a second child on the way, Mac (played by Rogen) and Kelly Radner (played by Byrne) have put their house up for sale. With a potential buyer on the hook ,things start to fall into place seamlessly for the Radner family. Unfortunately, just before the sale is made, they are placed in escrow. For those of you who don’t know, escrow is where the buyer has 30 days to inspect the house and can choose to pull out of the deal at any time.  All hell breaks loose when a sorority moves into the former frat house with the intention of becoming the first “party sorority.” Hijinks and prank wars ensue when Mac and Kelly are forced to team up with the man-child Teddy Sanders (played by Efron.)

Going into this movie, I kept medium to low expectations with a few questions in mind. Will a copy and paste format sequel be as funny as the original? And does Seth Rogen’s unique brand of comedy still hold up, or is it stale news?

Well to put it bluntly, yes this movie is almost an exact copy and paste of the original but with a slightly new spin on it. Though I had seen all of these pranks before, I still found genuine enjoyment out of “Neighbors 2.” Is it the greatest comedy movie of the year? Well, no. But it is just as funny as its original. So if you liked the first “Neighbors” movie, then you will definitely enjoy this.

What surprised me the most was the funniest actor in the movie to me was Zac Efron. It was funny to see him play a man-child who just can’t get out of the past and needs to “keep the party going.”This isn’t to say Seth Rogen wasn’t funny, because he was a definite close second in my opinion. To see the man who used to play the childish-stoner dead beat in his previous movies to a responsible father just trying to help his family was really charming. This transition was even better when Rogen would showed he still has that stoner-comedy aspect about him.

In the end I would give Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising a 3/5 stars for its clever one liners and entertaining ride. Just be warned if you aren’t a fan of Seth Rogen movies in the past then this probably isn’t the movie that will convert you.