Neighbors 2: Reviews Falling

Last Friday marked the release of the Neighbors sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. The sequel brings back a number of celebrities from the first film like Zach Efron and Seth Rogen. Sorority Rising also adds a couple new celebrities to the cast like Selena Gomez and Chloë Grace Moretz.

The original film was about two new parents who move into the suburbs and the subsequent prank war which occurs when a fraternity, Omega Psi Beta, moves in next door.

While I would love to say this was a highly anticipated sequel which will surely be one of the latest blockbusters, the film community would disagree. Film critics at The Guardian were not impressed with Rogen's sequel.

"That’s got potential, but a sustained script is what he needs. It’s not forthcoming here", says Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian.

The plot fell sort of expectations by using what critics see as the same storyline as the original with frat boys exchanged for a sorority.

Fans of the first movie, however, walked away with a different opinion. I spoke with people as they left the theatre to get their opinions.

"It was actually better than the first one, this one was hilarious", said Mary Harris from Centennial Colorado.

 The lack of plot variation from the original movie was over shadowed by fresh jokes and new faces for many of the fans of Sorority Rising, allowing them to enjoy the film more than the its predecessor.

Despite the mixed reviews, most agreed that Neighbors 2 had a feminist message that was not present in the previous film. However, the were further disputes over the quality of that message and whether it may have been more harmful than progressive. Vulture magazine mentions how the women in the film are used as "signposts for the audience (or our male characters) to 'learn something' from". As a result, the women are not dynamic developed characters, they lose their human empathetic characteristics and exist only for the feminist agenda in the film.

Some argue that the prominent progressive message against sexism and homophobia made the movie less funny by making it "too politically correct". Others, reply saying that comedy like this should be standard. If making a joke at the expense of a whole group is the only way you can be funny, its time to retire. True comedy should unite people, not alienate them, which is what Seth Rogen achieved in this film. Many have heralded Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising as the peak of modern feminism in film, while others see this as the bare minimum effort in progressive media.

While this movie hasn't done too well in the box office, it has started important conversations around language and the role comedy plays in ending oppression.