Critics reviews

Thankfully, NEIGHBORS 2 is low on Seth Rogan and high on a tremendous Kelsey Grammar cameo. It's a welcome subversion of both modern Hollywood and its critics' approaches to diversity and identity—one that, in some ways, harkens back to the studio efforts of Joe Dante and John Waters.

The most annoying jokes, as ever with Rogen, are the ones about the wonders of weed. The best are the ones about young vs. old (including the undertone of our hero realising that his baby daughter will someday grow up and become like the teens who despise him) – and the trump card is Chloe Grace Moretz as the chief sorority sister, tempering her usual bad-girl ruthlessness with a softer, more vulnerable side.

A bit of self-awareness goes a long way in elevating this comedy sequel above the 2014 original... The biggest change is political: the themes of gay marriage, female empowerment, endemic sexism, and racist harassment by the police crop up alongside the practicalities of real-estate transactions to make the narrative setup far more engaging than the antic—and often merely frantic—set pieces.

A little bit of self-awareness goes a long way in elevating "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising" well above the 2014 original... What makes the movie an improvement on its antecedent isn't the virtuousness of its characters and the right attitudes that it espouses but the apparent engagement of the filmmakers—the director, Nicholas Stoller, and a host of screenwriters, some credited, some not—with the specifics, the ideas, and the implications of the milieu of which they make comic hay.

Having the "right" politics doesn't make a film worthwhile, but this is unexpectedly urgent, scoring points against a timely and important target that's been unexplored. Just a year after Fury Road blazed a corrective through another male-centric genre, Neighbors 2 does more than takes back the night, it takes back bro comedies.

The movie breaks down into a series of sketches, with Experiments In Outrageous Humor (small children interacting with sex toys, a highly unhygienic attack on the Radner house from the sorority, using a terribly specific choice of spongy weapon) taking extreme precedent over character development and narrative coherence. The scenario is so thin that the movie pretty much repeats the same "what are we gonna do?" scene at the sorority house less than ten minutes after the first one.

As enlightened sequels go, this isn't exactly Magic Mike XXL, but the film does a serviceable job depicting the difficulties increasingly square adults encounter in their efforts to convey some wokeness... Along with the anticipated, mostly satisfying revivals of gags involving airbags and inept spy games, there are strong bits involving weaponized sexuality and outrageous crotch-centric humor.

Who would have thought that the sequel to a broad Seth Rogen frat comedy could ever be worth mentioning in the same sentence as [Magic Mike XXL,] that absolute gem of progressive filmmaking? But is it funny? The film's concern with serious issues makes for truly exciting and touching moments of introspection and forgiveness. But it also makes way for a torrent of crass, intelligent and delightful jokes.

It turns out to be an uneasy watch, awash with unconvincing performances, unfunny stereotypes, and dubious gross-out gags. Its chief pleasure turns out to be Zac Efron, who delivers a sweet-natured turn as ageing dim-wat, little-frat-boy-lost Teddy.

With sly sorority girls having replaced lunkheaded fratboys as the collective nemesis of Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne's harried, hip-no-more homeowners, the film has a knowingly conflicted engagement with millennial-generation feminism that freshens its outlook even as it unevenly rejigs many of its predecessor's gags.