Neighbors (2014) [Blu-Ray]
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron
Release Date: Own it on Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD on September 23rd
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 9/10
Plot Summary:
A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house.
‘Neighbors’ tells the story of new parents Mac and Kelly who are currently trying to adapt to their new life of constantly being responsible for this child and having to give up on partying and their life as they knew it. At the same time, the house next door to them ends up being sold to a fraternity and turned into a rowdy frat house. Now not only must they try and adapt to their new lives, they must deal with the insanity and reminder of old times in their faces and these college kids even waking up their child in the middle of the night. Soon it becomes too much and as tempers rise, a full on war begins between the couple and the fraternity of hilarious proportions.
Nicholas Stoller (probably best known for directing ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ and ‘Get Him to the Greek’) does a capable job in the director’s chair for ‘Neighbors’ and the offbeat chemistry between Seth Rogen and Zac Efron is both uncomfortable and unique. Rogen and Efron may not be at their top form here, but they both give decent performances and there are a number of other familiar talented faces such as Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ike Barinholtz (who I’m a huge fan of from his role on ‘The Mindy Project’) who all contribute in a positive way with capable performances around the board for the most part.
While I can’t say that ‘Neighbors’ ranks up there with the likes of some recent raunchy comedy classics like ‘This is the End’ ‘We’re The Millers’, it still delivers plenty of raunchy fun and laughs throughout the majority of the film and the solid cast of talented and funny individuals also contributes a lot to the film. If you’re looking for just an entertaining and funny time then I’d say ‘Neighbors’ is well worth a watch in my opinion, just don’t go in expecting the comedy of the decade and you should enjoy yourself for the most part.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Neighbors’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty fantastic, all of the bright and illuminating colors are rich and sharp, while even the darker moments are perfectly visible and no pixilation or other notable faults could be found within on my end. This is definitely another impressive high definition video presentation from Universal that shouldn’t disappoint.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. We all know comedies are quite commonly far less active when it comes to the surround sound; while this is in many ways the case with ‘Neighbors’ as well, the constant partying and pranks occurring as a result of the plot help provide more opportunity than usual to take advantage of all five channels and this lossless multichannel soundtrack holds up great. It can really get loud at moments when intended, then easily able to drop to tame and quiet a moment later; providing plenty of activity throughout from partygoers, music and the like in the rear speakers. As with the video, this DTS-HD MA soundtrack sounds great overall and should easily please the masses.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Neighbors’ includes a number of fun bonus goodies. Included on the release is an Alternate Opening as well as just short of 13 minutes of Deleted Scenes (both of which are Blu-Ray exclusives); a Line-O-Rama and a Gag Reel. Also included are a few featurette’s that provide a Behind the Scenes look at the movie and include interviews with those involved with production. The included featurette’s are: ‘An Unlikely Pair’; ‘Partying with the Neighbors’ ‘On the Set With…’ and ‘The Frat.’
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