Back to school

Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz, Zac Efron, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in "Neighbors 2." Image courtesy Universal Pictures.

“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” is a better film than it has any right to be. It sounds like a backhanded compliment, but the phrase is a legitimate form of flattery for a film that has a number of factors going against it. This is, after all, a sequel to a film that earns the same compliment, a follow up without any real purpose to exist story wise, featuring what appears to be a recycled plot, and starring Zac Efron fresh off the horrendous “Dirty Grandpa” and few other less than encouraging projects. The fact that the first one was popular enough to warrant a sequel is impressive enough; that the sequel is more interesting and often funnier than its predecessor is almost unbelievable.

Picking up about two years after the events from the first one – old enough for the central couple's daughter Stella to talk – “Neighbors 2” returns Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as harried couple Mac and Kelly Radner, who are in the midst of selling their home to move to the suburbs and are expecting child No. 2. All they have to do is wait 30 days for the home to clear escrow before they can pack up and head to their new home; otherwise they're on the hook for two houses they can’t afford. But, of course, fate intervenes in the form of three freshman coeds (Chloë Grace Moretz, Kiersey Clemons and Beanie Feldstein) intent on starting a sorority. Guided and spurred on by old Radner foe Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron), the girls establish their new home across the way from the Radner house, starting a war between the students and the family, who are joined by accomplices Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) and Paula (Carla Gallo). Shenanigans involving airbags, pranks, pot, bikinis, sexual aids, and sanitary products ensue.

Much of that description sounds awfully familiar to the first “Neighbors,” especially the escalating prank war and the battle between the young and the (comparatively) old. And “Neighbors 2” does on occasion lift a few things from its predecessor, most notably the resurrection of the airbag jokes and a love for some really cheap special effects (theoretically making the action more comical, but not in practice). What sets it apart though is a major shift in tone from the frat bros in the first film to the sorority sisters in the making for this one, a layer of sweetness and gentleness the original mostly eschewed in favor of  bitterness and edge. The change isn't rooted on the shift in gender of the participants – the film goes out of its way to depict the women as far more cutthroat in their pranks than Efron's old crew – but from a change in sympathies for the combatants. There remains a level of understanding for why the Radners engage in a conflict with the women across the street; they're a normal enough (albeit not very bright) couple with one child to raise and a second on the way seeking to build their family.

Yet the multitude of filmmakers – director Nicolas Stoller and an armada of screenwriters including Rogen – reserve a lot of sympathy for the girls too. All they seek is a place to call their own away from the negative influences of the fraternity parties and the dangers that lurk within those houses. They see a system that keeps them down and strips them of their agency as women; wanting to maintain their safety and encourage camaraderie is a noble and worthwhile thing to do. “Neighbors 2” asks for, and earns, endearment for the neophyte sorority sisters, as well as for Efron's Teddy, whose purpose remains unfulfilled as his friends advance into adulthood. Mentoring the sorority offers some direction within an area he has some expertise with. Teddy is, at heart, a decent enough guy, as shown in an engagement scene between his best friend Pete (Dave Franco) and Pete's boyfriend. He's just a dude who could use a break and something to look forward to.

What happens to Teddy at the end is very sweet, as is the resolution for the Radner clan and for the sorority sisters. It’s a milder conclusion than the one offered in “Neighbors,” but it's really the most logical and fairest way for things to end for all parties involved. Everyone grows up a little bit, and the touch of adulthood tones down “Neighbors 2's” general vulgarity and lewdness. There's no bitter aftertaste with this film; it may just be one of the gentlest films to have a running subplot featuring a vibrator.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 92 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Ask Away

Target audience: People who enjoyed the first one along with fans of Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne.

Take the whole family?: A whole lot of cursing and drug use in this make it a little inappropriate for kids.

Theater or Netflix?: Not a problem to see it in theaters, but not exactly vital either. Matinee it if need be.

Is Efron redeemable?: He can be a likable enough lead actor depending on whose working on the project with him. Play him off a slumming Robert De Niro and its a disaster, but give actors like Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne to do the heavy comedic lifting and his charm and handsomeness can shine through. He does exceptional work as Teddy, and hopefully that carries over in future projects.

Watch this as well?: The original “Neighbors” is entertaining and more often than not quite funny. The casting of Kiersey Clemons in this one though is enough to backdoor a recommendation for “Dope,” which is very messy but interesting and sometimes hilarious.

Robert De Niro has sunk to a new low

Zac Efron and Robert De Niro exert energy in "Dirty Grandpa." Image courtesy Lionsgate.

I have no idea why Robert De Niro chose to participate in “Dirty Grandpa.” I doubt very much that he needs a cash influx – being Robert De Niro creates access to choice roles not offered to the Burt Reynolds of the world. There is a chance De Niro just likes these types of films – he did star in multiple “Meet the Parents” flicks over the years – although his palpable boredom and sincere lack of effort on screen makes that a no. Maybe he just wanted to exchange lazy innuendo with Aubrey Plaza, which, really, is difficult to fault a person for doing at all. Whatever the reason may be, the result is a dreadful film that has one of the greatest cinematic figures repeatedly jamming his thumb up Zac Efron's butt and dropping a lot of discomfiting racist and homophobic humor because why not.

Before all of that happens though, De Niro's Dick Kelly is mourning the loss of his beloved wife, who died after a very long battle with cancer. Supposedly grief stricken, De Niro recruits his grandson Jason (Efron), a young lawyer at his father's (Dermot Mulroney) firm, to drive with him from Atlanta to Boca Raton Florida to play a little golf and bond. It’s worth nothing that this plan, for whatever reason, takes place a week before Efron's wedding to stereotypical controlling fiance Meredith (Julianne Hough).

De Niro’s plan gets derailed once he and Efron encounter college students Plaza (about a decade too old for this role, but whatever), Bradley (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, also a decade too old for his part) and Efron's former classmate/token love interest Shadia (Zoey Deutch, actually the appropriate age for her part) heading to Daytona Beach for spring break weekend.  De Niro really, really wants to spend some quality time with Plaza, and coerces Efron to head to the beach for a weekend of debauchery. There they encounter irascible drug dealer Pam (Jason Mantzoukas), LAX bros Cody and Brah (Jake Picking and Michael Hudson, respectively) and some morally squiffy cops (Mo Collins and Henry Zebrowski), among others. Such racism, along with shenanigans involving penises, drawings of penises, sexual harassment, drugs, booze, flexing, punching and everything else that happens during an average weekend in Florida, ensue.

Something “Dirty Grandpa” deserves credit for is delivering exactly what the previews and title promise; De Niro saying and doing filthy, disgusting things. For anyone who wants to see Jimmy Conway do such things, this is probably the best opportunity he or she will ever have to witness such things, regardless of how effective Jake LaMotta is at actually performing it. The answer to that remains to be determined; as mentioned above, De Niro really isn't putting in that much effort into this one – even his emotional scenes underwhelm – so he gets a begrudging incomplete. It is, however, fair to provide an “F” to the person who decided to cast young Vito Corleone as the comedic driving force for this film.

I'd say De Niro doesn't quite fit this type of film, but I'm not sure the filmmakers (director Dan Mazer and writer John Phillips) are up to the task of serving a proper film. The plot, which is trite and obvious, makes zero sense and stretches the limits of credulity frequently. There are also a number of weird plot holes that need filling in, most notably how Efron and Deutch could have taken a class together when the former is an established attorney and the latter hasn't graduated college. Add to that some noticeable continuity errors and frequent syncing issues with the audio, and you have yourself a rather lovely mess of a film.

A comedy can overcome such issues, although a movie does actually have to be funny to do so. I shouldn't say “Dirty Grandpa” is a dire film that acts as a sinkhole for jokes – humor is subjective after all – but  I can say whatever laughs are to be found in this film are based on stereotypes, sexual anatomy, De Niro, or some combination of the three. In other words, it's not very inventive, although neither is the depiction of women as, to put it uncomfortably bluntly, sluts, saints and shrews. “Dirty Grandpa” aims for the reliable lowest common denominator and strikes gold at the expense of social progress, the state of comedy, and De Niro's dignity, or at least what's left of it.

Rating: One and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 102 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Ask Away

Target audience: Anyone who wants to watch Robert De Niro curse wantonly.

Take the whole family?: An onslaught of junk shots makes this rather inappropriate for kids, so keep anyone below their mid teens at home.

Theater or Netflix?: Netflix and other streaming options only if you must.

What does work in 'Dirty Grandpa'?: A couple of jokes do land to bump it from miserable to just bad, and Jason Mantzoukas and Aubrey Plaza are both very game, even if the former's character belongs in a radically different film. Despite my reservations about this film, “Dirty Grandpa,” somehow, could've been a whole lot worse.

Watch this instead?: You're better served checking out a couple of movies featuring the stars of “Dirty Grandpa.” Both “Neighbors” (which has Mantzoukas and Zac Efron) and “The To Do List” (featuring Plaza) are silly, gross-out comedies, but they're smarter than expected and much better executed than this one.