I was so excited when I first saw the trailer for "Neighbors 2." I loved the first "Neighbors" and the concept of the film featuring a sorority this time made me even more excited. The movie starts out the same way as the first, with a sex scene between the married couple. I did not like the beginning, because the wife throws up all over her husband's face and it's disgusting.
The movie basically follows the plot line of the first; a Greek organization moves in and they have to get rid of them. The couple is in escrow and need the next 30 days to go by smoothly so that the people interested in their house buy it and don’t back out. But the sorority moving in next door does not help with that.
I liked the concept of a sorority but the execution was poor. They depicted this sorority as being extreme feminists whose only interests were smoking weed. The movie didn’t go with the typical movie sorority stereotype, which was nice, but the new stereotype they tried to create was all wrong. The movie focused heavily on feminist views and equal rights, which is important, but a comedy movie is not the place to focus on that. I felt that it was focused on in a serious way rather than a comedic way and it was more of a serious movie than one to watch absentmindedly.
There were also many confusing things in the movie. For one, Zac Efron’s brother and closest friend from "Neighbors," Pete, gets engaged to a man. This was confusing because we got no hint of him being gay in the first one, and seems like it was just thrown in there. Also, Zac Efron starts the movie being on the sorority’s side and being angry with the neighbors. This was confusing because "Neighbors" ends with Zac and the husband being friends at Abercrombie. There was no explanation for why the first movie ends with them being friends but the second starts with them being enemies.
The buildup was not very complex and detailed, which made the movie feel rushed. The girls who start a sorority go to a frat party that they stay in for maybe 30 seconds, and then decide they hate frats. This is how most of the plot line was developed; quick and without explanation.
Despite those aspects I didn’t like, it was funny at times. I do not think it was as funny as the first one, but it had a better ending. The ending is a win-win for both parties involved and it made me happy. Overall, the movie was not as cohesive and well executed as the first. There are some points with good laughs, but this sequel holes true to the stigma that sequels are never as good as the original. But hey, there's a lot of shirtless Zac Efron, and that's always a good reason to spend 10 dollars on a movie ticket.
