COMEDY; 1hr 37min
STARRING: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco
Beefcake: Efron
Unless you’re in one yourself (assuming you’re American, that is), next-door neighbours don’t come much worse than a fraternity house. Mac and Kelly Radner (Efron and Byrne) still wish they were cool — but that’s a lot more of a stretch when you’ve hit your 30s with a baby daughter (Zoey Vargas, cute as, but still). So when the Delta Psi Beta boys, overseen by mustard-keen president Teddy (Efron) and astute VP Pete (Franco), move in and the Radners’ sedate hood is party central overnight, they vow to get rid of them, pronto.
This is no stroll around the block. Booze is guzzled. Weed is smoked. Property is trashed. Then it really gets ugly. Director Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek) and writers Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien have commandeered carbonated juvenilia with quick-fire wordplay and wicked absurdity from the entire cast, but especially Rogen and Byrne, biting off more than they can chew and coming back for bigger and badder. Anyone can have a crack at being out of line. It’s a whole other high-wire act to totally pull it off.
