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| Scene from Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising |
One of the best uses of comedy is to pit two incompatible forces against each other. For Seth Rogen, it has generally been him as a stoner against responsibility. However, he turned a corner with director Nicholas Stoller's Neighbors, which placed him alongside Rose Byrne as one of the "old people," whose disinterest in frat culture lead to hilarious pranks and made for one of the most unassuming franchises in modern history. In the sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Rogen and Byrne return again, this time pitted against young women who just want to party. While this sounds like the basis for a contrived comedy, it actually adds to the brilliant subtext that not only makes this sequel better than the original, but evidence that lowbrow jokes can coexist alongside socially progressive themes in ways that don't seem pandering. It may still feel like a Rogen comedy, but at least it's delightfully subversive.
The movie opens similarly to the previous installment in which Rogen and Byrne have a sex scene that ends disastrously and with a life-changing revelation. While he has always been key on milking awkward sex for comedy, Rogen has managed to make it embody something deeper in the Neighbors universe. For starters, it reflects the certain debilitation of age. While by no means exhausted and haggard, they don't have the energy that they once did, resulting in a perfect metaphor for them. They have settled into adulthood and have given up their notion of partying hard. They just want to move away from the suburbs into a nice, quiet house. In typical comedy fashion form, this is ruined when Kappa Nu (lead by Chloe Moretz) moves in next door and sabotages their 30 days in Escrow.
To a large extent, it is more of the same. As anyone who has even so much as read a Dennis the Menace comic would note, old people hate young people. It's perfect fodder for comedy, and the construct of this film is largely similar to the first. There are pranks. There are some scarring images that reflect Rogen's penchant for limited but effective gross-out humor. However, this isn't the conflict of grouchy neighbors akin to Dennis and Mr. Wilson. This is the slightly less hip having to deal with a generation who can hold entire conversations on a phone while you talk to them. As much as it's a tragedy to think that by the mid-30's one becomes irrelevant, it services as the basis by which most of the comedy develops.
However, Kappa Nu is far different from the frat. For starters, the general construct is meant to embody something akin to modern women's rights. It begins when Moretz and a band of sisters decide that having to aspire to the rules of a male-dominated culture won't do. They just want to party without being worried about perverts. It's the perfect embodiment for the modern woman, and the liberal behaviors do lead to some salacious humor. While it is very much a prank war as usual, it also explores the way that generations cannot relate to each other as well as the inevitable vulnerability and confusion that comes with being away from home. There's a lot of subtext, but not enough to let the smarts overpower the jokes.
It would be difficult to discuss any further without ruining the appeal of the movie, which is the humor. Rogen continues to make his vulgar humor shine, even as he ages and becomes the old man. It's weird to even note that he still holds any relevance as a performer. However, it makes sense when you notice that most of his films have slowly progressed from reluctant slob to cool dad in slight but inspired ways. Whether or not he's to be thanked for making a film that pits women as the enemy but also still manages to be progressive, it's still a revelation that films like Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising not only could be made, but could be this good as well as only 90 minutes. If there's any one comedy franchise that deserves the title for funniest, or at least most inspired, it's this one. Rogen and Byrne can park themselves next to any group of people in the future and hopefully the comedy will be good. For now, they have done the unthinkable: made a great comedy sequel that's possibly better than the first.
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