Bad Neighbours

It's a strange thing going into a film like Bad Neighbours when you are the wrong side of twenty-five yet still at university. Albeit, I am a graduate student in the final year of my PhD, but I still can't necessarily identify with the supposed grownups in this scenario; I may not be partying every night, but family suburban life seems a lifetime away. Yet in a sesne this is the dichotomy at the heart of this film. the notion that adolesence has almost extended and we all feel like we should be holding onto our youth and days of carefree partying. Not so long ago 'having it all' was the idea that you could have both a career and a family, one did not negate the other (ok, that is from a slightly feminst angle, but stick with me for a moment). Now it seems, or at least as far as the characters here are concerned, that this now extends to maintaining that 'college lifestyle' indefinitely. This is where the Bad Neighbours differs from the perception that you might have taken from the trailer - this is not just about a poor couple being beset by a rowdy group of teens. In this instance both are as bad as each other.

It is this premise that is the force that drives much of the action - after moving to a quiet neighbourhood with their baby, Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) have reservations about their new neighours; a fraternity. While they are certain that this will mean excessive noise and a disturbance to their peaceful suburban existence, at the same time it is obvious that neither want to be labeled as the old fuddy-duddies next door. And at first it seems like their fears are put to one side; after they initially go over to ask the frat to turn the music down at their party they end up staying the whole night and enjoying it with them. But for Mac and Kelly this is no longer a sustainable lifestyle and when the next night the noise escalates again, they do waht any sensible adult might do and call the police. This sets in motion the string of one-upmanship that drives the rest of the film. 

This is essentially a comedy that relies more on the situational joke rather than the witty one liner, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are certainly a fair number of laughs - not deep, gut wrenching, 'oh my, my face hurts so much, please stop' laughs, but enough to make you not feel like you wasted your time or your money. It's an enjoyable hour and forty minutes, but ultimately there isn't really anything here that is particularly memorable (writing this one hour after leaving the cinema and I'd be pushed to recall my favourite gag). I suppose in the end this is a film that very much lives up to its premise and like the partying days of you early youth; it was fun while it lasted, but once its done you ultmiately can't think of that good of a reason to go back.