BAD NEIGHBOURS

People of the UK, before you get the wrong end of the stick, Bad Neighbours is not some twisted version of the popular Australian soap Neighbours. So if you go expecting to see Karl Kennedy take on Harold Bishop in a street fight, you will ultimately leave disappointed.

Bad Neighbours, released as Neighbors in the USA (but we won't get into title changes now), is the latest Seth Rogen comedy to hit cinemas worldwide.

Rogen stars alongside Rose Byrne as Mac and Kelly Radner, a couple just starting to settle into parenthood when a fraternity moves in next door. The fraternity known as Delta Psi are recognised for their wild parties and with Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) in charge, Mac and Kelly soon find themselves with a very unwelcome enemy.

Bad Neighbours is pretty much what you would expect from a comedy starring Seth Rogen, with plenty of jokes about drugs, jokes about sex and popular culture references. Fans of Adam Sandler look away now, this is not quite the toilet humour you would find in Grown Ups.

The only problem is that it was not as funny as it wants to be. Putting many of the best jokes in the film into the trailer did not help in this case. The scene with the airbag prank was funny but it would have been so much better if we never knew it was coming. Not to get too hung up on this subject but trailers for comedies should simply stop showing the best parts of the film.

As with many comedies, it is the performances that provide many of the positives. Seth Rogen seems to be in snooze mode throughout and that is not necessarily a bad thing. He plays such similar characters that it really does come as a second nature for him to just slip into the role and bring the laughs.

In the role of Kelly, Rose Byrne shows that Bridesmaids was not just a lucky strike in the comedy department. She arguably gives the best performance in Bad Neighbours. Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, much like Rogen, feel right at home in a comedy and seem to have fun as members of the fraternity.

Zac Efron is the one person I was not so sure about in Bad Neighbours. I thought he was the weak link in That Awkward Moment earlier this year. Efron is not from the same background as the rest of the cast so it is not surprising to me that it feels awkward watching him in a comedy.

That being said, he does have a major part to play in two of my personal favourite scenes from the film. The first is a scene where he and Rogen discuss who Batman really is to them and secondly during the Robert De Niro party scene. 

It may not be the funniest film of the year and while Bad Neighbours doesn't hit the same heights as Superbad or Pineapple Express, it is still well worth a watch. 

Verdict: 3/5