Summary - Great 4.0

Half a dozen great starring performances make Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising a great deal of fun. Called Bad Neighbors 2 outside North America, it reprises the surprisingly good Neighbors laughfest from 2014.

Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne make up most of the older generation, a horrifying thought to them and me both.

Zac Efron & Chloë Grace Moritz lead the younger generation, backed up by Kersey Clemons & Dave Franco, stars all. Christopher Mintz-Plasse & Selena Gomez are in there also. College kids rule, to be sure.

LOLs are plenty, complete with gross-outs galore. Children in adult bodies revel in collegiate bacchanalia, even if some are into their thirties by now. The younger ones are sexy as hell, living life to the fullest.

The sociology is guano-crazy, demonstrating value sets that are destructive to societal comity, let alone progress. Basically it’s Decline and Fall stuff. But it is super-funny. Even the airbag gag returns & works.

Sorority Rising instantly enters the College Comedy Canon at an elevated rank. See it and laugh.

Acting - Great 4.0

Seth Rogen reprises his stock role as self-absorbed nitwit with hot wife. Now a house full of hot neighbors.

Rose Byrne reprises her role as said hot wife, now with a small kid and another on the way.

Chloë Grace Moretz is top girl on campus yet again in her career, this time the leader and founder of Kappa Nu, a new sorority on campus, the first girls’ house to throw parties. Chloë Grace has been a moviestar since at least Kick-Ass, and is now an adult moviestar, even if she’s playing a college freshman.

Zac Efron is definitely an adult now, playing an adult who hasn’t launched well. Efron has blossomed into a supremely sexy actor who takes off his shirt every chance he gets. One of his gags has to do with body oil.

Kersey Clemons jumps off screen as one of Kappa Nu’s three co-founders. She was dope in Dope, now this.

Dave Franco comes out as a former Delta Psi VP who is ready to get married.

• Christopher Mintz-Plasse slums as one of his fraternity brothers.
• Lisa Kudrow reprises her role as Dean Carol Gladstone.
• Selena Gomez sizzles as the comely president of the top sorority on campus.
• Kelsey Grammer represents the baby-boomers as Chloë’s Grace’s dad.

Film - Great 4.0

Nicholas Stoller’s brilliant move is to make the sequel about a sorority, after originating on a fraternity. Sororities are sexier and chock-full of ironies to mine.

Stoller has directed some of the greatest comedies ever. This ain’t one, great though it is.

He cowrote it with Andrew Jay Cohen, Brendan O’Brien, Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen, based on Cohen & O’Brien characters.

Edge - Sordid 2.7

I called for CPS with Neighbors. They’re needed all the more now.

Those having sex are married, generally, which is funnier than it is sexy.

Reality - Surreal 2.2

Don’t try this at home, er, on campus. It’s seriously surreal shit. IOW, life don’t work this way.

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