I’m still laughing at this scene. Image via Ace Showbiz

It’s a classic setup: a rag-tag fraternity goes up against their stuffy, adult neighbors. The underdog rebels go up against the establishment. However, what Neighbors wants to presuppose is: what if we are actually rooting for the adults?

Here comes Neighbors, which is the first big comedy blockbuster of the summer. It promises big laughs and gratuitous party scenes. It delivers on both these promises, but more on the latter than the former.

Neighbors is ambitious, to say the least. It throws a lot of shit at the wall, and a lot of that shit actually works. Neighbors sees Seth Rogen growing up just a little bit from bachelor stoner to stoner with a baby. Rogen plays Mac Radner along with Rose Byrne, who plays his wife Kelly Radner. The Radners are in that weird stage where they are both adults but they still feel like they are kids. I sense a theme emerging.

Just as the couple is starting to get used to their boring suburban life, a fraternity moves in next door. The brothers we will come to know the most are Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco). We know that Teddy is a meathead because he always has his shirt off, and we know that Pete is smart because sometimes he wears glasses. The two of them are also trying to hold on to the last days of their youth.

Now, I know that last paragraph sounded abrupt, but that’s because it all happens very abruptly in the movie itself. At one moment, a gay couple is looking at the house next door and then suddenly, a bunch of fraternity brothers are already moving all of their stuff in. The biggest problem with Neighbors is that it rushes through every important plot point as quickly as possible and it never gives its story any time to breath. Neighbors is a comedy that relies heavily on its plot, yet it seems more interested in moving from one penis joke to the next.

There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that. Randomness and chaos can make a comedy great. However, something like Neighbors should be focused more on the latter than the former. Something like Step Brothers, which is, no joke, one of the best comedies of the 21st century, can be as random as it wants because it never really claimed to have a plot. When you do something like Neighbors, which borders on some form of high concept, you have to commit to the story you laid out for yourself. One of the biggest problems with Neighbors is that it wants to have it both ways. It wants to be both an Apatow comedy and an 80s comedy where a bunch of slobs challenge the establishment. When you try and have it both ways, you end up defeating yourself.

This is not to say that Neighbors is a failure as a comedy. When it works, it really works. There is one scene depicting a parade of Robert De Niro impressions. Part of this scene is already in the trailer, but that doesn’t make the actual scene any less funny. Maybe the funniest part of the whole scene is that there is a Jackie Brown reference in it. But really, the best part is watching Dave Franco claim to be “Robert De Niro from Meet the Fockers” as he spouts out quotes from Meet the Parents. Neighbors does pop culture references better than a lot of comedies I have seen in a while.

Then, next to some of the smarter jokes, there is a lot of broad slapstick humor. A lot of it works very well, such as a climactic fight between Seth Rogen and Zac Efron that uses objects in the room masterfully. Then, there are parts like the airbag joke, which would have been a lot funnier if they spread it out and built up to it. It also would have been funnier if they didn’t play that same gag on TV every ten minutes.

Neighbors is good, light summer entertainment. It is worth many laughs. However, it is unfortunate when you think of the wasted potential. It is constantly at odds with itself about whether it wants to be stupid or smart. In that mix, you have a lot of funny and charismatic people trying to figure out what to do with themselves. Neighbors is not a bad movie. In fact, at times, it is a very enjoyable movie. Yet, in the end, it feels less like a movie and more like a collection of side gags looking for a more complete comedy.

Brain Farts From The Edge

• I would like to think that Neighbors is secretly a piece of comedy fan fiction and that the Radners are actually related to Gilda Radner. That would be awesome.
• Ike Barinholtz, who you might know from The Mindy Project, is fantastic as the goofy and inappropriate friend. I wish he was given more to do.
• Okay, Zac Efron is shirtless just a little too much. At least the guy has some acting chops, though.
• Oh good, Carla Gallo is getting work.
• Integrating new media and technology into movies is tough. Probably the worst way a movie could do it is by putting text conversations and Skype calls on the screen. Neighbors does just that, and it bothered me maybe a little too much.
• The baby actors that they got here are pretty great. Look forward to some hilarious baby reaction shots. Extra points to Nicholas Stoller to figuring out how to direct a baby.
• I really wish that they let Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg write this. They could have turned it into Superbad set in college.
• Usually, a movie like this would be told from the perspective of the fraternity and the parents would be the villains. Neighbors tries to utilize both sides and it only works sometimes.
• This movie is really about how nobody prepares you for adulthood. Maturity kind of just happens. I like that a lot. I just wish they focused on that a little bit more and cut down the penis molding scene just a little bit.
• Also, they could have cut down on the party scenes. I just graduated from college and don’t need to see your found footage frat party scenes.
• One more thing: I could have watched Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne saying “keep it down” for 20 more minutes. As well as an additional 20 minutes of Hannibal Buress’ laugh.

Round up the usual suspects! Image via Paste Magazine

Just like March, summer goes in like a lion (whatever giant franchise offering Disney has to offer in June) and out like a very wimpy lamb (whatever Paranormal Activity spin-off is lated for release in the last week of August).

It would be unfair to immediately dismiss this summer’s entire lineup just because it doesn’t contain many original ideas. For now, originality is dead in Hollywood. That is a well researched fact, just like the how dogs are better than cats and Jaden Smith is terrible at grammar. Instead of rejecting it, it is better for a cinephile’s psyche to find the silver linings.

While there will still be plenty of sequels, prequels, remakes, and adaptations this summer, some of the worst qualities of modern Hollywood are starting to go the way of the dinosaurs and M. Night Shyamalan. For instance, this summer will give us a few major blockbusters that don’t hit the three hour mark, as well as a worldview that is more fun than gritty. Gritty is for Oscar season. Summer is for fun. Smart fun, if that is in anyway possible.

Here are the five movies coming out in the summer of 2014 that I look forward to the most:

5. 22 Jump Street (June 13)

22 Jump Street seems like an unnecessary sequel. Then again, 21 Jump Street seemed like an unnecessary movie. This is Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s second outing in 2014 following the huge success of The Lego Movie. As both 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie proved, they are masters at taking bad ideas and spinning them into gold. 22 Jump Street could also be another great bad idea, even if it neglected to find another role for Brie Larson, who is, in fact, America’s sweetheart. Anyway, 22 Jump Street should be great, so long as it turns sequels that rehash their predecessors into a meta joke. Also, less scenes of college parties and more scenes of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill on drugs, please.

4. Neighbors (May 9)

This is the only movie on the list that is not adapted from previous source material. I have high hopes for Neighbors, as Seth Rogen can do no wrong in my eyes (although he didn’t write or direct this). Neighbors has a simple concept of class versus classless reminiscent of comedies from another era such as Animal House and Caddyshack, and it even promises Dave Franco doing an impression of Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents. The only issue is that the trailers may be giving away too much. I have a theory that bad comedies have good trailers, because all of their best material can fit into a two minute video. The best comedies save all of their gold for the theaters, which is partly why I liked last summer’s The Heat so much. Neighbors will be a great summer comedy, as long as the people who made it stop giving away all of its best f***ing jokes for free.

3. Godzilla (May 16)

I might be the only person on the planet who didn’t like last summer’s Pacific Rim, so I am in need of a movie where a giant dinosaur-type monster destroys an entire city. I think that Godzilla is that movie. The footage that has been shown to the world so far is nothing short of mesmerizing, and the entire film clocks in at just around the two hour mark. Finally, Hollywood is starting to trim down on its bloated spectacles.

2. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (August 22)

It has been almost a decade since the last Sin City came out, yet time has not weakened my excitement for another installment. A Dame to Kill For looks like it will provide all of the red blood against a black and white backdrop that I need for the year. The last film left most of the characters in a state that you wouldn’t necessarily call alive, so A Dame to Kill For will have plenty of room for new characters (though Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis are coming back), situations, and decapitated clergymen.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1)

I don’t know a thing about Guardians of the Galaxy. I have no idea why Vin Diesel is playing a tree or why Bradley Cooper is playing a raccoon with a gun and I don’t care because I am into it. Guardians of the Galaxy looks like a refreshing break from most of today’s self-serious comic book blockbusters. It embraces a funny and silly spirit that will hopefully make this summer less cynical. The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer itself is a master class in how to make a good trailer: it tells you exactly what you need to know about the plot (a rag-tag team must save the galaxy) without revealing anything major (who are they fighting against?). Plus, between this and The Lego Movie, it looks like Chris Pratt is about to become a household name. Burt Macklin would be proud.