'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising' Review

Image from YouTube

By Darian Scalamoni

Comedy sequels are usually hit-or-miss but for the most part they are misses, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is able to do something that only films like 22 Jump Street and Wayne’s World 2 have done in the past; it is a great successor to the first movie. The movie starts with Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) trying to sell their house and move to a more suburban town to raise their daughter and other incoming child. They are then put in escrow before Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young freshman in college, decides to move in next door with her new sorority with a little help from an old friend from the first film, Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron). Teddy is struggling to find his place in the world as his friends have all moved on to bigger and better things after college.

 The first Neighbors movie was able to hit many different audiences and demographics with Seth Rogen hitting the stoner crowd along with Zac Efron and Dave Franco who helped the younger demographic. With the first film being filled with tons of laughs as well as showcasing brotherhood and friendship, Sorority Rising does the same with sisterhood, comedic elements but also a great feminist societal message for young women everywhere.

After Sanders is practically forced to move out of his apartment due to his best friend, Pete (Dave Franco), being engaged to be married, he winds up in the old Delta Psi house. He’s discovered by Shelby and her two best friends who are trying to rent the house to help bring in more young college women to join their sorority, Kappa Nu. The difference between Kappa Nu and other sororities is that they will be able to throw parties in their house, empowering women to do what they want to do and put them on equal ground with guys and their fraternities.

 Nicholas Stoller, Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O’Brien return as director and writers respectively with great results after helping craft the first Neighbors film. The movie is interestingly enough not just a laugh out loud comedy though; featuring great themes and sympathies throughout. Though the young women are fighting for equality and women’s rights, Mac and Kelly are still making racist and anti-Semitic comments while trying to raise their young daughter which leads to hilarity. The film does feel somewhat familiar which is only natural as a sequel, but it succeeds in more ways than it fails. Efron again shines with his comedy chops and delivery, while Rose Byrne is quickly becoming one of the better comedic actresses in Hollywood. Rogen still shows his charm as a young father doing his best, while his best friend Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) radiates off humor in the scenes he is featured.

 Though it may be true that no sequel to the original Neighbors film was exactly necessary, the stars and talent make what could have been another lackluster sequel in the comedy genre that disappoints like Zoolander 2 or The Hangover Part II, into a lovable, important comedy movie filled with tremendous gags. Efron, Rogen and Byrne are all top notch again and the main theme of identity helps make this one of the best comedies in a few years.

Overall I give this film a 7.7/10.