Bad Neighbours (AKA Neighbors) (2014)

Year: 2014
Running Time: 96 minutes
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Writers: Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien
Cast: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Halston Sage

There is no denying that Bad Neighbours is funny. However in order for it to be a laugh a minute, it does require that certain sense of humour often associated with the majority of Seth Rogen comedies.The film does attempt to have some depth to it by drawing on experiences which many can relate to, but it loses much of it's depth in it's comedic style. Yet for those who don't mind the occasional (or twenty) penis jokes, they will be willing to overlook the lack of intended depth and enjoy a whole lot of laughs.

New parents, Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) Radner are still trying to adjust to their new lives with a little person in the house when to their horror, the home next door becomes a fraternity house. They start off on good terms with the frat president and vice president, Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco), but after one loud party too many, things take a turn for the worse. The Radners and the frat boys declare war on each other and it is a fight to see who will leave the neighbourhood first.

Bad Neighbours can be hilariously funny at times and it is at these times that the humour is for everyone. Yet then there are the moments which are definitely not for everyone as the jokes cross the line to become crude, as there are a tremendous amount of drug and sexual references. Anyone who considers themselves a prude will not be impressed by much of the humour in this film A lot of the humour and dialogue is what we have come to expect from a typical Seth Rogen comedy. None of the comedic dialogue from Rogen or Rose Byrne sounds particularly original and it is in the live action of the film where the majority of the humour comes from.

Yet, there is some depth in there. While Bad Neighbours is first and foremost about a street war, it also has a very real backbone to it. Mac and Kelly are in a stage which most new parents go through where they are trying to adjust to the lack of sleep, lack of quality time together and a complete lifestyle change. In many ways they envy the younger people next door and crave their lifestyle, but would give up their (very cute) little girl for anything. On the other hand you have Teddy who is enjoying a life of partying and not ready to give that up to become "old and boring". Again, these are feelings many people experience when leaving one stage of life and moving to the next. They are not ready to let go, but know that they will have to one day. The outcomes for these two dilemmas faced by the lead characters are fairly predictable, as would be expected. It is a shame that much of the depth is lost by trying to make it appear as funny as possible.

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne's Mac and Kelly are not the most likable of lead characters. While the boys next door are probably doing worse things in general, the Radner's ways of getting even with them seem even more juvenile and brutal than their payback methods. Of course these two are supposed to be overtired and frustrated parents which doesn't add to the mix, but they just miss the likability boat. Rogen and Byrne's chemistry is perhaps not mind blowing, but does have it's positive points. Director, Nicholas Stoller seems to be going for the idea of the two being married people who are still best friends with each other and love each other's company. The script does absolutely grasp this concept, but on screen the dialogue between the two can often be irritating at times and then seem very rehearsed at others.

The frat boys on the other hand may be gross and immature at times, but they are perfectly believable frat boys as a result. Zac Efron's Teddy and Dave Franco's Pete actually come across as a lot nicer people than the Radners. Much of their behaviour will be relatable to those who have been involved with a fraternity or been in a sorority observing their behaviour. Zac Efron plays a fairly generic part, but he does have moments during the film when you glimpse how much acting ability he really has and that there is still some extremely exciting things for him in the future. The same goes for Dave Franco. While the role doesn't call for much versatility. he doesn't disappoint with what he has been given. One of the stand out moments of the film is the De Niro party and Franco's imitation of Robert De Niro is spot on.

While Bad Neighbours as a whole may not be the film for everyone, it does have it's memorable moments. It is absolutely not easily forgotten, whether you are a fan of the whole film or not.

6/10

New Year's Eve (2011)

New Year’s Eve

Year: 2011

Director: Garry Marshall

Cast: Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michelle, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Josh Duhamel, Jessica Biel, Abigail Breslin, Jon Bon Jovi

Before I begin my review….

Wow, after I had written down the cast for New Year’s Eve, I thought to myself how impressive that list of actors really is.

There are a few Academy Award winners or nominees in that list, but those who aren’t…it is a who’s who of chick flicks really.  Sarah Jessica Parker is once again enjoying her time in New York City, Katherine Heigl plays the same film role she always does, Lea Michelle is belting out a tune and Zac Efron busts a move on the dance floor. Besides the winners/nominees circle where Hilary Swank, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin belong, everyone is happy playing who they normally do.

My favourite thing about the movie? The bloopers reel. In my opinion, every comedy film should have a bloopers reel at the end. They just keep the laughs going right until the credits role. Honestly, some blooper reels are even funnier than the movies themselves. For the record if I was in a movie, my blooper reel would be like that of Halle Berry’s.

Review

What did British film Love, Actually start?

Garry Marshall has continued his 2010 film Valentine’s Day with this year’s New Year’s Eve. What is this film designed to do? Not much else than the collaboration of some big names for box office draw and create some sort of feeling of optimism. Other than that, it is a completely faulted film with more wrong with it than right.

New Year’s Eve follows the much used film technique of a number of stories being told over a particular time period with characters who’s lives all link in with each other. It is New Years Eve in New York City and everyone is trying to get through the night of nights in their own way. The night doesn’t end up the way any of the characters expect and there are tears, smiles, laughter and, of course, that elusive midnight kiss.

The best thing about New Year’s Eve is it does have a party atmosphere which makes everyone in the audience ready for the party season. However, the ball has to drop for this to be felt.

The first half of the film is incredibly boring and slow which will only prompt you to check your watch.  No suspense is felt and none of the subplots are really that interesting.  It is more of the same old, same old chick flick stories you see rolled into one with no time for any real emotion and any connection as the film darts from one story to the next. 

The script is very lack lustre and relies on the sparkly glitter and confetti to make the film fun and enjoyable.

For a comedy, there isn’t very many actually funny moments. The moments in the film which are supposed to be funny are more just very forced and the jokes are really quite old. The blooper reel at the end of the film is funnier than the majority of the film.

None of the characters have absolutely any depth to them and people will walk away asking questions about the background of them, as there are definitely questions there to be asked. For example, how is Sarah Jessica Parker’s character of Kim Zac Efron’s Paul’s sister? There is at least an age difference of 20 years there. Some explanation of the family dynamics there would have been nice.

Hilary Swank, who plays the vice president of New Year’s Eve proceedings in Times Square Claire Morgan, starts off shaky and a bit rubbishy, grows into her role towards the end, helped by Robert De Niro who plays her father. Halle Berry is also quite good as Nurse Aimee, although her role is really very brief. It’s also good to see Abigail Breslin growing into a woman and still holding onto her acting talents.

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Ingrid is so pathetic at times that she is just irritating and Efron is also completely irritating at times. Lea Michelle’s Elise seems like a whole lot of nothing besides a singing voice and her and Ashton Kutcher have absolutely no screen chemistry.

Katherine Heigl is once again, just Katherine Heigl.

New Year’s Eve is, if nothing else, relevant for this time of the year. Completely unmemorable and trying a bit too hard to be everything it’s un named predecessors were.

3.5/10

Me And Orson Welles

Me And Orson Welles
Year: 2008
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes, Ben Chaplin

In My Own Words
For those who don’t know, I am a massive fan of anything old Hollywood. Anything about the movie business from its birth to the 1960’s I am in love with. Not that I don’t love movies in the time after the 1960’s (as it would be strange if I was as committed to Movie Critical as I am and I hated modern film), but I truly love the Golden Age of Hollywood. The stars, the films, the film makers and the style. Whenever a film comes out that has anything remotely to do with this era, it is something for me to get excited about. A film about Orson Welles? I’m there! Unfortunately, I would be surprised if many of Zac Efron’s fans who would have rushed out to see their heart throb’s new film would have known who Orson Welles was before they saw this film. Personally, I think the man was a genius. He was brilliant in “Citizen Kane”, “The Third Man” and “The Lady From Shanghai” and the man was at his best directing two of these three films. Although “Me And Orson Welles” isn’t completely true to life, there are many accuracies throughout. Firstly and most importantly, Mr Welles was known to be extremely hot headed and very hard to work with at times. He knew he was great at his job, but he can be forgiven considering he was as much of a genius as what he thought he was. For those of you who haven’t seen “Citizen Kane”, do me a favour. Hire it out and then try to tell me that he isn’t a genius.

Some of you may be asking “If you were so excited about the movie, then why did it take you so long to see it?” Well, believe it or not, it actually only taken me less than a week to see it without illegal download. “Me and Orson Welles debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008, opened in the United States in March 2009, the UK in December 2009 and long and behold, Australia in August 2010. I have no idea why it took this film to get here, but it doesn’t look good for some movie patrons knowing this piece on information. My other half was very sceptical of the quality of this film, because his theory is that if a film takes so long to be released here, it can’t be that good.

Well, these are my own words and here is my review.

Review
Orson Welles. The man was larger than life in stature as well as in presence and this is perfectly captured on the screen in Richard Linklater’s latest film, “Me And Orson Welles”. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Robert Kaplow, this film is light and fun, but is superior to other films which are seen as light and fluffy. It is able to bring a tear to your eye for reasons other than soppy romance scenes and has some stellar acting. 17 year old Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is like any other school kid dreaming of acting stardom in New York City when he has an amazing stroke of luck and is cast in the newest Orson Welles (Christian McKay) production at the Mercury Theatre, Julius Caeser. The production looks like it is destined to be a failure due to the unprofessional nature of Welles and his over the top personality. Despite the pandemonium, Samuels falls in love with his new occupation and also with production assistant, Sonja Jones (Claire Danes). However, it doesn’t take him long to realise that the world of Broadway is not as pure as he would have liked it to be and that Welles is the man, in many different ways.

“Me And Orson Welles” is definitely a fun watch. It is not as heavy or emotional as it could be, but the film would not be as fun to watch if it was. It captures the true essence of Broadway in the 1930’s and has many accurate references to the time. It is obvious that director Linklater, screenwriter Holly Gent Palmo and author Kaplow did a great deal of research when piecing together the screenplay, which is evident considering “Me And Orson Welles” is a great period piece. The script it witty and extremely well written. However, it can be a little cheesy in parts and seem very rehearsed , rather than flowing the way a film should.

The characters in the film are all colourful and great to see on the screen. Zac Efron takes on a role in “Me and Orson Welles” unlike any other he has done before. At times he still oozes the same cheesy charm that has made him famous in the “High School Musical” trilogy, but then he also shows the making of a fine actor. He has moments of brilliant acting as the movie goes on. Though it would be great to see him in a film where he doesn’t sing or dance at all. However, he is perfect for the role of Samuels. The star of the film is undeniably Christian McKay. In only his first big screen appearance, he gives an amazing performance that Welles, the man, would be proud of. He uncannily resembles Welles physically, vocally and in attitude. He does something which every great actor should to do, he makes the audience hate him, and then love him. They want him to fail, but they also want him to succeed. McKay definitely deserves all the praise he has received. Ben Chaplin is also a standout in his role as cast member George Coulouris, as he gives a stunning performance.

It is refreshing to see a fun, but serious at the same time film to be released which has all the features of a backstage musical, bar the music. Fans of theatre will definitely enjoy this film, as will fans of Welles himself and of the Broadway of yesterday. Christian McKay carries the film with his brilliance and gives a performance which one will not be able to help remembering when thinking of Orson Welles. “Me And Orson Welles” may seem like an interesting choice for film maker, Richard Linklater, but definitely not a bad choice.
7/10