'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising' Film Review
The first 'Neighbors' movie was a pleasant surprise. It was a lot of fun, was hilarious, and had a great cast that really worked well together. This year's follow-up saw the return of Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and Zec Efron as well as adding Chloe Grace Moretz, in a sequel that very much parallels the first incarnation.
With the premise pretty much the same as the first film, Rogen and Byrne are tasked with ridding themselves of troublesome college students, this time a sorority. While both films are very similar, 'Sorority Rising' added some depth to Zac Efron's character. All of the characters seemed to be in the process of trying to mature, but are sucked back into their vices from the first film.
Filled with lots of laughs, this film was a lot of fun and did its job of delivering comedy. With the high rate of comedy sequels that aren't very good, this movie certainly does what other comedy sequels fail to do. As I am about to turn 30 and have a family, I could really relate to the characters, as I'm going through similar things in my own life, which made me feel more connected to them.
Incorporating the female antagonists in the movie gave the movie a fun dynamic, as we got to see the fraternity brothers in the first movie. Chloe Grace Moretz did a nice job, getting to play her role with varying moods and emotions. The other 2 main girls were also good in their roles, and their chemistry was good.
I can't knock this movie too much for being so similar to the first (it's not like 'The Hangover 2' compared to 'The Hangover'), because it does add those different dimensions while maintaining the same premise, It also had a lot of heart while maintaining that level of crudeness that makes it so fun.
The movie did go on to make $107 million world-wide and holds a 62% critic rating and 50% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.