Photos courtesy Universal Pictures.
Christina Ulsh
@stina_ulsh
Another Point Grey Pictures flick, another surfeit of toilet humor, slapstick comedy and … what’s this? An undertaking in gender equality?
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising follows Shelby (Chloë Grace Moretz), who starts Kappa Nu when she learns sororities cannot throw parties and fraternities use their parties to prey on women. Kappa Nu settles in a house left on the market by an old fraternity — a house next door to Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen, who also writes and produces, and Rose Byrne). Having recently sold their home, the two find themselves scrambling to shut down the rowdy sorority next door when they realize the property is in escrow for 30 days, meaning the buyers can pull out for any reason. The ladies of Kappa Nu recruit Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) as a Greek-life mentor, but eventually dump him when he offers sound advice. Sanders, vulnerable after his newly engaged roommate asked him to move out, seeks solidarity and friendship, leading him to team up with the Radners to dismantle Kappa Nu.
Neighbors 2 manages to get the crowd laughing and poke fun at the patriarchy. It has noble intentions, yet the flick merely amounts to a series of gross-out gags and physical humor that fails to develop its story, characters or feminist themes.
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