Page 24 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • May 21, 2014 ‘Neighbors’ suffers from departures from script Seth Rogen and Zac Efron star in ‘Neighbors.’ by Dennis Seuling Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) Radner live with their new baby in a lovely home on a quiet street. They are happy and enjoy their time together. Their contentment is not going to last long. One day, a fraternity from the local college moves in next door, and the couple fears this can only mean wild parties, heavy drinking, and constant disturbances. In order to avoid this, Mac and Kelly pay a visit to their new neighbors. Invited to party, Mac and Kelly indulge until they eventually depart with a mild request to keep the noise down. They are assured by fraternity officers Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) that the fraternity house will be the ideal neighbor. Late one night, during an especially loud fraternity party, the Radners call the police in desperation. Teddy and his frater- nity brothers declare war on the Radners, making their life as miserable as possible. Not to be outdone, Mac and Kelly recip- rocate by causing a flood in the fraternity house’s basement and issuing a formal com- Advertise your Restaurant for Father’s Day in The Villadom TIMES plaint to the college dean (Lisa Kudrow). The rest of the film is about outdoing each other with mean-spirited “pranks” to force each other to move out. Rogen has a goofy kind of charm that has worked for him in previous films, but here he is overbearing, grating, and — worst of all — unfunny. To make up for lack of genuine humor in the script, he mugs endlessly and behaves as if bellowing and slapstick are enough to create a comic performance. The film’s R rating allows him to use strong language and involve himself in sexual scenes, but they add noth- ing to the movie. Byrne looks like she is treading water in this loud, offensive picture. There is no chemistry between her and Rogen. They are playing a happily married couple, but they are unconvincing. Byrne never attempts an American accent, so a throwaway line by Rogen establishes Kelly’s Australian origins. An actor should be able to adopt accents. It is part of the job. If Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman can do it, Byrne should, too. Efron’s performance is the most amus- ing in an otherwise dull picture. His Teddy is a self-parody of his hunky, dreamboat image and he embraces it completely. Unlike the others in the cast, he appears more grounded, less unsure of what to do next. That is because he adheres to the script, unlike everyone else in the cast, who indulge in improvisation to little comic effect. Teddy knows how to get by on his looks and charm, but finds himself up against people who are not buying his smiles, good looks, and gentle talk. Franco stands out as the frat’s vice president and conscience. Though his Pete possesses an X-rated talent, he recognizes that a college fraternity and nightly par- ties will soon give way to concerns about what he will do after graduation. Franco’s enthusiasm is infectious, and it is hard to be immune to his mile-wide smile and spar- kling personality. “Neighbors” is as disorganized and wildly irreverent as the parties thrown by the fraternity from hell in the movie. Its over-reliance on improvisation takes its toll early on with unfunny dialogue, lame repartee, and terrible editing. When the viewer is all too aware of improvisation, the technique falls flat. To complicate mat- ters, the soundtrack is so loud that it would be more suitable for a Michael Bay action flick than a comedy. The Radners may be driven crazy by the noise from their neigh- bors, but does the audience have to endure that onslaught, too? Rated R for nudity, sexual situations, alcohol and drug abuse, and strong lan- guage, “Neighbors” tries very hard to be a rollicking exercise in untethered hedonism. It is a good example of what happens when a director does not have a firm handle on performances and allows actors to veer from the written word.