A film about growing up and partying down, Nicholas Stoller tackles the fears of both students and adults in his latest comedy, which is rowdy, filthy, insightful and flawed. Rose Byrne (wickedly funny) and Seth Rogen (the same amusing stoner man-child as always) play a married couple struggling with the responsibilities of being new parents. But when a wild fraternity buys the house next door, they realise that a little baby-induced monotony is a dream compared to never-ending hedonism.
As the neighbours go to war with each-other, neophyte screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien demonstrate a glaring inability to craft a cohesive plot. However, they compensate for their narrative failings with a blend of often uproarious humour, steadily escalating absurdity, and some nicely observed character insight. Byrne and Rogen make for an immensely likable team; their fears about becoming a boring married couple manifesting in their painful attempts to seem cool, and Rogen’s constant awe at the prospect of having sex anywhere other than the master bed.
Meanwhile, frat President Zac Efron and his bromantic interest Dave Franco have never been better as the hedonistic house leaders, whose outrageous parties, phallic-centric humour and dogged quest to terrorise their neighbours is underlined with a surprisingly moving sense of brotherhood, and fear of the future.
Amidst the successful gross out gags and frenzied Project X-style party setpieces, there are a few tonal missteps: a choppy subplot involving Rogen’s divorced friends, and a breast milk gag clearly aiming for Bridesmaids-inspired body humour infamy. But with clever insights into the futility of retrograde lifestyles, Bad Neighbours has some grown-up things to say – after it’s done playing beer pong.