Bad Neighbours

A couple with a young baby are playing at being grown up as demonstrated by their excitement at the prospect of a gay couple with a baby of their own moving into the neighbouring house. The prospect only reinforces their new found sense of adulthood. Their delusions are cruelly exposed when instead of the gay couple a fraternity house moves in next door. This inevitably means noise and raucous behaviour, a future that appals them.

Anyone who has seen Seth Rogen playing the lead in comedy previously will have some idea of what to expect. Rogen does not do subtle humour. Aged 32 in real life Rogen behaves like a pubescent teenager at times. Why Rose Byrne would play the role of his wife is a mystery but at least she does not hide her Australian-ness and indeed some humour is drawn from the fact. Similarly Zac Efron has a thankless task in a muddled role with no apparent redeeming factor.

'Bad Neighbours' is ninety-six minutes of juvenile jokes. No opportunity is missed for fart jokes, genital jokes and the like. The target audience must surely be mid teens and some dopey ones at that. Actually there are several clever moments, perhaps the best being an unexpected joke line to do with car airbags but these 'gems' are lost amongst so much dross.

The best thing about the film are the twins who share the role of Rogen and Byrnes' baby. Combined they represent the cutest movie baby I've seen in a long time. The rest is mostly lamentable.
★