Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

            Two years ago, I talked about the raunchy comedy known as “Neighbors.” The film was about a fraternity moving in next door to a couple with a new-born baby, and they don’t get along. Despite me not being the biggest Seth Rogen fan, I found myself enjoying the hell out of that film. Sure, the jokes were pretty sophomoric and the dialogue wasn’t comedy gold, but what made it enjoyable was how much it embraced how stupid it was. It is a silly concept, but with how dedicated everybody was in it, it made it one of the most fun comedies that I sat through. Not only that, but Zac Efron was really funny too, and his comedic timing with Rogen was pretty well balanced, especially when the two are either talking drunk about Batman or when they fight each other with self-made dildos.

            When a sequel was announced, I was a bit nervous. For starters, sequels to comedies are a big coin toss, as you’d never know if they’d turn out good like with “22 Jump Street,” or like absolute dog shit like “Vacation.” Despite this, I decided to give the sequel a chance.

            “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” features our local couple, Mac and Kelly Rander, expecting a second child, and trying to sell their house. However, things go south for them, when a sorority, led by a girl named Shelby, moves in next door, compromising their move. Now the couple, along with Teddy, go to war with the sorority, in the same kind of shenanigans that we had from the first movie.

            Now, was the film good? Yeah, I had a lot of fun watching this film. Does it surpass the original? In some ways, I’d say it does. Even if the film has a similar premise to the original, it does feel different from its predecessor, and not just because it’s a sorority instead of a fraternity. It does feel like a continuation from where the previous film took off from, and it has a few added twists that actually make some scenarios even funnier.

I love how it builds up with Teddy working with the sorority to deny the truth, but then things turn south for him when he tries to act like the grown-up that he’s supposed to be. It really does show his character evolving with every step of the way. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne also share some good laughs as well, trying to keep things civil as parents, but obviously being just as naïve and immature as the college students they go up against. I especially love the scene where Efron and Rogen are making hard boiled eggs, and just hearing the dialogue these two share makes me laugh still.

However, the scene stealer is Chloe Grace Moretz as Shelby, the leader of the sorority. I absolutely loved her character in this movie, being a girl who wants to party, but not in a disgraceful way that fraternities see as. The scenes with her and the rest of the sorority had me laughing my ass off, because of how outlandish these girls were. Whether it’d be sabotaging a tailgate to be the only pot sellers, having some members dress up as Minions, or doing their chaotic pranks to get back at Mac and Kelly, all had me laughing hysterically.

Now while I did find much enjoyment from the film, there were a few problems that I did find. For one, some of the humor is a bit of a stretch, and at times did make me groan at how predictable it got. Like there’s a scene where the sorority tricks the couple into having a fight, and Mac tries to look for Kelly, only to end up in Sydney, Australia. It just felt a bit sitcom-ish for my tastes. Also, it felt like Mac and Kelly didn’t have as strong of a story arc. I mean, when you compare it to Teddy’s dealing with his best friend kicking him out, and Shelby trying to be someone different from her high school life, Mac and Kelly’s arc kind of pales in comparison. Not that it was bad, but it wasn’t as strong.

Overall, I still had a lot of fun with “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” Much like the previous film, it’s outlandish and ridiculous in so many ways, but it still did what it needed to do: It needed to be a fun comedy, and that’s what I got. If you liked the first one, definitely give this film a watch.

Rating: 8/10