A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house. Of course the couple stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, while the frat boys include Zac Efron and Dave Franco. I expected mad chaos to ensue, and ensue it did.
Zac Efron has definitely moved on from Disney and put on his big boy pants. Though he’s only a couple of years younger than me, I was never really into him during his Disney days when he was sporting that ridiculous Justin Bieber haircut. The hair really can make the man! While he was definitely a fine piece of eye candy in this film of course he is the “bad” guy so it’s not easy to connect to his personality, but I really think he had the stereotypical frat boy archetype down pat. I was always looking forward to what crazy idea he’d come up with next.
I think Dave Franco has been on a role lately himself! He worked well as Efron’s side-kick and partner in crime and he was very funny in a number of scenes. His Robert Dinero impression from Meet the Parents was great! It seems as if he’s starting to come into his own. I’m starting to look at him more as “Dave Franco” instead of “James Franco’s younger brother”. I liked him in 21 Jump Street too so I think he has a knack for playing teen/college-aged characters. He’s funny without trying too hard or being over-the-top.
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne were great here on the own, but I never really bought them as a couple. I just didn’t sense the chemistry, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the film. Though I don’t have kids myself I did find their characters relatable since I’m nearing 30 myself and while I still enjoy a good time and a party, it’s definitely not in the wee hours of the morning on a weeknight! And I learned long ago that being drunk actually kind of sucks!
One thing that surprised me. When I think R-rated comedy, I almost always expect there to be boobs and lots of them. That’s not what I see them for but I thought there was a quota to meet. But I honestly think this is one of the few comedies where the nudity is minimal. And what we did see…well it certainly wasn’t for the male crowd! In that sense it was pretty refreshing.
All in all the jokes were great and I enjoyed the movie quite a bit though I wouldn’t really put it up there with my favorite R-rated comedies. But this movie provides almost all of the ingredients of a successful film. The raunch, language, and adult humor were guilty pleasures for me and with box office success like this I hope that’s a sign that the demand for these films remains strong.
As a follow-up to This Is the End, Seth Rogen’s career seems to be doing well. Admittedly he’s not everyone’s cup of tea (even mine on occasion), but Hollywood always follows the yellow brick road when it comes to big box office so I look forward to seeing what he he’ll do next. His This Is the End co-star Jonah Hill has 22 Jump Street coming up soon so I am very curious to see how that box office compares. A $50 million opening is a lot to live up to, but Channing Tatum could be the equalizer.