Page 7 - FILM
P. 7
FILM
There are many long standing comedy traditions. For he’s spent his entire university life participating in
some it’s witty wordplay, for some it’s slapstick, but it sorority parties without actually studying. Rogen and
takes a special kind of misanthrope to enjoy watching Byrne are the perfect image of a truly loving couple,
stupid people ruin their lives. It’s a niche of comedy who are friends, partners and lovers, but fear that
that’s often a bit too mean-spirited for mainstream they’re losing their youthful energy, and thus go
attention and mass appeal, but as It’s Always Sunny through some particularly desperate steps to feel
in Philadelphia and Peep Show prove, it’s a niche that excitement once more. Both sets of characters are
will always be there, waiting for a new idiot to gawk driven to truly sociopathic lengths, and a lot of the
over. These idiots are very kindly providing to movie humor is drawn from the sheer amount of cognitive
going sadists this winter with Bad Neighbours. dissonance between these supposed adults and the
teenagers they oppose. Ultimately, what drives them
Bad Neighbours is a cunning beast in that it disguises is a fear that’s relatable to anyone, young or old, and
itself as a classic slapstick Seth Rogen comedy, namely, it’s what makes the sympathetic.
an hour and a half of watching Zac Efron humiliating
the bumbling Rogen, but the movie has a much more The acting for the most part is top of the line, and Efron
intelligent streak than that. Both sides of the confict, really shines with his scarily driven, almost cultish
the sorority versus the parents, are given a great deal portrayal of Teddy Sanders, who is capable of both
of characterization, enough to make their motives genuine human compassion as well as psychopathic
seem reasonable, yet somehow are made just selfsh disdain for his fellow man. Rogen and Byrne are also
and unpleasant enough to make it funny when they at the top of their game, as their characters do some
get hurt. Both sides utterly ruin their enemies’ lives very questionable things, but ultimately are good
with increasingly psychotic pranks that really make natured people who do truly love each other. The
the viewer start to question the characters’ sanities. supporting cast really makes the flm however, and
Both sides try to be sneaky and underhanded when Hannibal Buress and Lisa Kudrow play minor roles of
they’re largely populated by genuinely stupid people, a bizarre police ofcer and a very quirky dean of the
and the entire movie is like watching two particularly university respectively, that populates the world with
bad chess players try to outsmart each other, and it’s a whole new slew of minor lunatics.
hilarious.
Overall, Bad Neighbours is a very black comedy with
Beneath it all, the movie does have a good heart. Both a hidden, little heart of gold. Some may fnd it a little
sides are clearly depicted as being fragile, emotional too dark and misanthropic, but sitting through it
humans who are afraid of the responsibilities of adult reveals a rather mature message delivered through
life, a sentiment that rings very well with Efron’s heaping handfuls of painful, painful laughter.
character, who is afraid that he has no future because
Independent Media Inspiring Minds 7
There are many long standing comedy traditions. For he’s spent his entire university life participating in
some it’s witty wordplay, for some it’s slapstick, but it sorority parties without actually studying. Rogen and
takes a special kind of misanthrope to enjoy watching Byrne are the perfect image of a truly loving couple,
stupid people ruin their lives. It’s a niche of comedy who are friends, partners and lovers, but fear that
that’s often a bit too mean-spirited for mainstream they’re losing their youthful energy, and thus go
attention and mass appeal, but as It’s Always Sunny through some particularly desperate steps to feel
in Philadelphia and Peep Show prove, it’s a niche that excitement once more. Both sets of characters are
will always be there, waiting for a new idiot to gawk driven to truly sociopathic lengths, and a lot of the
over. These idiots are very kindly providing to movie humor is drawn from the sheer amount of cognitive
going sadists this winter with Bad Neighbours. dissonance between these supposed adults and the
teenagers they oppose. Ultimately, what drives them
Bad Neighbours is a cunning beast in that it disguises is a fear that’s relatable to anyone, young or old, and
itself as a classic slapstick Seth Rogen comedy, namely, it’s what makes the sympathetic.
an hour and a half of watching Zac Efron humiliating
the bumbling Rogen, but the movie has a much more The acting for the most part is top of the line, and Efron
intelligent streak than that. Both sides of the confict, really shines with his scarily driven, almost cultish
the sorority versus the parents, are given a great deal portrayal of Teddy Sanders, who is capable of both
of characterization, enough to make their motives genuine human compassion as well as psychopathic
seem reasonable, yet somehow are made just selfsh disdain for his fellow man. Rogen and Byrne are also
and unpleasant enough to make it funny when they at the top of their game, as their characters do some
get hurt. Both sides utterly ruin their enemies’ lives very questionable things, but ultimately are good
with increasingly psychotic pranks that really make natured people who do truly love each other. The
the viewer start to question the characters’ sanities. supporting cast really makes the flm however, and
Both sides try to be sneaky and underhanded when Hannibal Buress and Lisa Kudrow play minor roles of
they’re largely populated by genuinely stupid people, a bizarre police ofcer and a very quirky dean of the
and the entire movie is like watching two particularly university respectively, that populates the world with
bad chess players try to outsmart each other, and it’s a whole new slew of minor lunatics.
hilarious.
Overall, Bad Neighbours is a very black comedy with
Beneath it all, the movie does have a good heart. Both a hidden, little heart of gold. Some may fnd it a little
sides are clearly depicted as being fragile, emotional too dark and misanthropic, but sitting through it
humans who are afraid of the responsibilities of adult reveals a rather mature message delivered through
life, a sentiment that rings very well with Efron’s heaping handfuls of painful, painful laughter.
character, who is afraid that he has no future because
Independent Media Inspiring Minds 7
