The first film was a big hit at the cinemas, I saw the trailer for the sequel, Sorority Rising, a few times and read it got higher star ratings than the original, so I wasn't going to miss it, directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek). Basically, Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) and his Australian wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) are expecting their second child and prepare to sell their house. Eric (Sam Richardson) and Jessica Baiers (Abbi Jacobson) are interested, but the realtor Wendy (Liz Cackowski) reminds the Radners that their home is in escrow (the temporary holding of payment, until the buyers finalise the sale) for 30 days. Mac's friend Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) and his wife Paula (Carla Gallo) are also expecting a baby. College freshman Shelby Robek (Chloë Grace Moretz) meets fellow students Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Booksmart's Beanie Feldstein). The trio are devastated that sororities are not allowed to host parties and disgusted by sexist and predatory frat parties. So they decide to find a new place and create a new sorority, Kappa Nu, to throw their own parties. Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) has a criminal record cannot find a worthwhile job, following his actions living next door to the Radners. He tries to spend time with his former frat brothers, but they are moving in different directions. Pete Regazolli (Dave Franco) has become a successful architect and has come out as gay, Scoonie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has launched his own mobile app, and Garfield "Garf" Slade (Jerrod Carmichael) has graduated police academy and is a rookie cop. The friends help Pete's boyfriend Darren (John Early) propose, leading Pete to ask Teddy to move out. Distraught, Teddy runs to the old frat house, next door to the Radners. Shelby, Beth, and Nora arrive there and intend to rent the house for Kappa Nu, they find Teddy there as well. As the girls are unable to afford the rent, Teddy finds an opportunity to be valued and offers to help them throw parties, earning enough donations and new members to pay rent. Mac and Kelly encountered Teddy and are curious why he is in the neighbourhood, then realise the sorority have moved in next door. They fear that the loud and hectic parties will scare off the buyers of their house. They go to Kappa Nu and politely ask them to refrain from partying for 30 days, but the girls refuse. The Radners report the sorority to Dean Carol Gladstone (Lisa Kudrow) but she cannot control an independent sorority. The couple also call Shelby's father (Kelsey Grammar) to talk to his daughter, but his emotions get the better of him and he also fails to help. The intervening with their fun leads to Kappa Nu pranking the Radners, throwing several used tampons and menstruation pads on and through their windows. Mac, Kelly, Jimmy, and Paula retaliate, infesting the sorority house with bed bugs, forcing the girls to evacuate and call pest control to cover the house in fumigation tenting. The Baiers visit the house while this is occurring, and Mac and Kelly get Jimmy and Paula to pretend to be their new quiet and peaceful Jewish neighbours. Teddy argues with Pete about the state of his life and moves into the sorority. Low on funds to pay rent, the girls plan to sell marijuana at a party, calling the police to arrest other dealers, eliminating the competition. Teddy objects to this plan, so the girls kick him out. Feeling unvalued and vengeful of their betrayal, he decides to join forces with the Radners to take down Kappa Nu. They infiltrate the big-scale event with marijuana being sold. Teddy distracts the girls with an onstage striptease, while Jimmy steals the drugs, hiding it in a trash bag. Shelby realises the theft, she and the other girls try to retrieve the bag of drugs, but despite a mishap, they get away with them. Mac and Kelly realise Teddy's lack of direction and invite him to stay with them. To get their own back, the girls obtain Mac and Kelly's cell phone numbers and through text messages trick Mac into flying to Sydney, Australia, and Kelly to think he is having an affair. Returning home, the Radners find Kappa Nu has robbed and vandalised their house. The Baiers find the house is in a state and threaten to pull out from the sale unless the sorority is kicked out. When the sorority receives an eviction notice, Shelby sees no choice but to organise a sexually gratuitous frat-style party to raise money. Mac and Kelly plan to call the police and shut the party down, and Jimmy and Paula sneak into it, while Teddy cannot shut the power off. Mac and Teddy end up locked in the garage, but they break out using airbags. Kelly overhears Beth and Nora arguing with Shelby for compromising their sorority principles, but Kelly encourages the girls not to give up on themselves. Paula goes into labour, and Teddy reconciles with Pete and Darren, happily agreeing to serve as their best man. The sorority enjoys a more empowering party for themselves and a crowd of girls from other sororities want to join Kappa Nu. With an overflow of money and new members, the sorority can keep their home, and the Radners agree to rent their house to Kappa Nu as well, earning them more cash than selling the house. Three months later, Teddy prepares Pete to walk down the aisle. Teddy has utilised his party-planning experience to become a wedding planner for gay couples. Mac and Kelly have moved into their new home, with no close neighbours, and bring home their new baby, Mildred, to meet Jimmy and Paula's new son, Jimmy Jr. Also starring Selena Gomez as Madison, Phi Lambda President, Awkwafina as Christine, Hannibal Buress as Officer Watkins, twins Elise and Zoey Vargas as Stella, Billy Eichner as Oliver Studebaker, and Brian Huskey as Bill Wazakowski. Rogen and Byrne as the married couple, Efron as the attention-seeking as the former nemesis turned ally, and Moretz as the sorority leader all give equally reliable performances, and up-and-coming stars Awkwafina and Feldstein make an impression also. As before the film is basically the characters conspiring and trying to outdo each other, filled with over-the-top slapstick and some gross-out moments, loads of swearing and drug use, I can see why critics praise it slightly more than the original, a fun comedy. Good!
Review of Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
