Neighbors (2014 film)

Neighbors

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2014 (2014)
Founder	Nicholas Stoller (director), Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien (writers)
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Products	Film

This article is about the American motion picture. For the Indian cinema production, see Neighbours (2014 Indian film).

Neighbors (known as Bad Neighbours' in certain regions) is a 2014 American bromantic comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller and scripted by Andrew J. Cohen alongside Brendan O'Brien. Featuring leads Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, the cast also includes supporting performances from Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. The story centers on a couple whose peaceful life is disrupted when a fraternity moves in next door, sparking an escalating conflict.

The movie debuted at the South by Southwest festival on March 8, 2014, followed by its United States release on May 9. Critics generally responded positively, highlighting Efron's standout role, while the film achieved significant box office success, earning over $270 million worldwide and becoming Rogen's top-grossing live-action feature. A follow-up, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, was released on May 20, 2016, with Stoller returning as director and much of the original cast reprising their characters.

Plot

Mac Radner and his wife Kelly, originally from Australia, are adapting to life with their newborn daughter Stella. Their new responsibilities strain their previous lifestyle and distance them from friends Jimmy Blevins and his former spouse Paula. A notorious fraternity known for wild parties, Delta Psi Beta, moves into the adjacent house. Its leaders, Teddy Sanders and Pete Regazolli, aim to secure a spot in Delta Psi’s Hall of Fame by hosting an extravagant year-end celebration.

When the Radners request Teddy to reduce party noise, he invites them to join the festivities as a gesture of goodwill. Kelly befriends Teddy’s girlfriend Brooke Shy, while Teddy shows Mac his bedroom equipped with fireworks and an electrical breaker box controlling the house’s power supply. Teddy promises to keep noise levels manageable but insists that Mac and Kelly contact him directly rather than the authorities if issues arise. However, when a party disrupts Stella’s sleep one night and Teddy is unreachable, Kelly persuades Mac to anonymously call the police. Officer Watkins quickly identifies them to Teddy. Feeling betrayed, Teddy leads his fraternity in retaliatory hazing against the Radners, including dumping trash on their lawn and nearly causing Stella to ingest an unused condom.

Seeking intervention, Mac and Kelly approach college dean Carol Gladstone but learn of a “three strikes” rule before disciplinary action is taken; Delta Psi already has one strike for burning down their previous house. Attempts to force the fraternity’s departure by damaging their property fail. Kelly manipulates Pete and Brooke into intimacy while Mac orchestrates Teddy catching them together. This confrontation escalates into a fight involving a barbecue grill that injures a passing professor, resulting in Delta Psi receiving their second strike and probation status that halts their party plans.

Determined to end the fraternity’s reign of chaos, Mac and Kelly recruit Jimmy—motivated by jealousy over Paula’s relationship with fraternity member Scoonie—to gather evidence of hazing incidents. They hire a pledge known as Assjuice to confront Teddy and secretly record his threats. However, Teddy unexpectedly treats Assjuice kindly after learning about the setup from him. In retaliation, Teddy unleashes destructive pranks involving airbags on Mac, Kelly, and Jimmy.

The trio fabricates a letter purportedly from Gladstone lifting Delta Psi’s probation. The fraternity prepares for its final party of the year, which Mac, Kelly, and Jimmy widely advertise to ensure it spirals out of control. Once underway, they alert the police; however, Teddy uncovers their scheme and halts the event just before Officer Watkins arrives. Jimmy distracts Teddy by leaping from a balcony while Kelly sneaks into Teddy’s room during Mac’s physical confrontation with him. Unable to reactivate power through the breaker box to summon help, Kelly fires a firework at Watkins’ patrol car. Paula convinces Scoonie to restore electricity, reigniting the party and rekindling her relationship with Jimmy. Taking responsibility for the chaos, Teddy persuades Pete and others to flee; he is subsequently arrested and the fraternity disbanded.

Four months later, Mac encounters Teddy working shirtless as a greeter at Abercrombie & Fitch. They exchange friendly greetings as Teddy shares that he is attending night classes to complete his education. Mac humorously joins him in greeting customers without his shirt on. Later, Mac and Kelly photograph Stella dressed in various costumes for a calendar project before receiving an invitation from Jimmy and Paula to attend Burning Man. The couple declines, embracing their new roles as parents.

Cast

• Seth Rogen portrays Mac Radner, the husband of Kelly
• Zac Efron plays Teddy Sanders, the president of Delta Psi Beta
• Rose Byrne features as Kelly Radner, Mac’s spouse
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse appears as Scoonie Schofield, a Delta Psi Beta member
• Dave Franco acts as Pete Regazolli, vice president of Delta Psi Beta
• Ike Barinholtz is Jimmy Blevins, a friend of Mac and Kelly
• Carla Gallo plays Paula Faldt-Blevins, Jimmy’s former wife
• Jerrod Carmichael portrays Garfield “Garf” Slade, part of Delta Psi Beta
• Craig Roberts appears as Gary "Assjuice", a member of Delta Psi Beta
• Lisa Kudrow takes on the role of Dean Carol Gladstone
• Hannibal Buress acts as Officer Watkins
• Halston Sage features as Brooke Shy
• Ali Cobrin plays Whitney
• Jason Mantzoukas is Dr. Theodorakis
• Brian Huskey portrays Bill Wazowkowski, Mac’s employer
• Liz Cackowski appears as Wendy, the realtor for Mac and Kelly
• Natasha Leggero makes an appearance as herself

Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, Kyle Newacheck, and Jake Johnson have cameo roles portraying former members of Delta Psi Beta.

Production

Before pitching to studios, both Seth Rogen and Zac Efron were already attached to the project. The film attracted bids from both Universal and New Line Cinema, with Universal ultimately acquiring the rights to the untitled script in July 2011. The screenplay was penned by writers Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The script was developed soon after. The inspiration behind it stemmed from Cohen and O’Brien’s apprehension about growing up. In May 2012, discussions began with director Nicholas Stoller to helm the film. Initially, the narrative centered on Rogen’s character interacting with fraternity members but was considered too reminiscent of Old School. Consequently, Stoller adjusted the storyline to focus on the conflict between Rogen and his wife against the fraternity students. Producer Evan Goldberg noted: "The original concept was a frat war involving Zac Efron. Possibly Seth too, but definitely Zac." Rose Byrne’s part expanded from a minor role representing adult responsibilities to a central partner in the conflict. Cohen explained: "Our main issue with the script was its repetitive nature; increasing Kelly’s involvement transformed everything." Rogen welcomed this development saying it shifted focus from just him and some guys clashing with a fraternity to a more compelling story about him and his wife. The cast and crew engaged in two weeks of rehearsals emphasizing improvisational techniques.

Filming commenced in April 2013 and concluded by late May 2013 in Los Angeles. The shoot spanned a total of 38 days. The two residential locations featured in the movie are situated within Los Angeles’ West Adams District.

To capture additional first-person viewpoints, cameras and iPhones were handed out to extras, party attendees, and members of the cast. On August 26, 2013, the film’s working title Townies was officially changed to Neighbors. For international releases outside the United States, it was renamed Bad Neighbours to avoid confusion with the Australian soap opera Neighbours, which had limited recognition in the U.S. at that time.

A rough cut version was presented on March 8, 2014 at Austin’s Paramount Theatre during the South by Southwest festival.

Release

Neighbors earned $150.2 million domestically in North America and an additional $120.5 million internationally, culminating in a global box office total of $270.7 million. This was achieved against a production budget of $18 million, which is over 50% lower than the typical film budget. Due to these financial constraints, the cast accepted significant reductions in their salaries. Taking all associated costs into account, Deadline Hollywood estimated the movie's net profit at $136.1 million. This film stands as Seth Rogen's highest-grossing live-action feature, surpassing the $219.1 million gross of Knocked Up.

During its debut weekend in North America, the film collected $49 million, securing the number one spot at the box office. This opening weekend revenue ranks as the third-largest for an original R-rated comedy in the United States, following Sex and the City ($57 million) in 2008 and Ted ($54.4 million) in 2012.

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray editions of Neighbors were made available on September 23, 2014.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Neighbors holds a 72% approval rating derived from 221 reviews, with an average score of 6.4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states, "Featuring abundant risqué humor well-distributed between its evenly matched leads, Neighbors justifies its R rating and delivers laughs to audiences." According to Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 45 critic reviews, reflecting "generally favorable reviews." Audience polling by CinemaScore assigned the movie an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Reviewers commended Zac Efron's portrayal, highlighting his successful departure from the "Disney kid" heartthrob image. Rose Byrne's performance also received acclaim, with critics appreciating the writers' choice to position her character as an active collaborator alongside Rogen's character rather than a peripheral figure.

Accolades

Compilation of awards and nominations

Awarding Body	Ceremony Date	Award Category	Nominees/Recipients	Result
15th Golden Trailer Awards	May 30, 2014	Best Comedy	Trailer 4	Template:Nom
		Best Comedy Poster	Teaser One-sheet	Template:Won
		Best Comedy TV Spot	Mad Neighbors	Template:Won
MTV Movie Awards	April 12, 2015	Best On-Screen Duo	Zac Efron and Dave Franco	Template:Won
		Best Shirtless Performance	Zac Efron	Template:Won
		Best Fight	Seth Rogen vs. Zac Efron	Template:Nom
		Best Kiss	Rose Byrne and Halston Sage	Template:Nom
		#WTF Moment	Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne	Template:Won
		Best Musical Moment	Seth Rogen and Zac Efron	Template:Nom
		Best Comedic Performance	Rose Byrne	Template:Nom
2014 Young Hollywood Awards	July 28, 2014	Best Threesome	Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse	Template:Nom
		Best Cast Chemistry–Film	Ensemble cast of Neighbors	Template:Nom
41st People's Choice Awards	January 7, 2015	Favorite Comedic Movie	Neighbors	Template:Nom
20th Critics' Choice Awards	January 15, 2015	Best Actress in a Comedy	Rose Byrne	Template:Nom

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack for the film was made available for digital purchase in the United States on April 29, 2014, and subsequently released in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2014.

Sequel

Main article: Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

On February 6, 2015, it was confirmed that a follow-up to Neighbors was underway, titled Sorority Rising, with Nicholas Stoller returning as director. The screenplay was again penned by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The storyline centers on Mac and Kelly teaming up with Teddy to confront the sorority sisters who occupy the former fraternity house. Returning cast members included Rogen, Byrne, Efron, Franco, Barinholtz, and Gallo. Additionally, new cast additions featured Chloë Grace Moretz, Kiersey Clemons, Beanie Feldstein, and Selena Gomez. Principal filming commenced in mid-2015, and the movie premiered on May 20, 2016.

External links

• Official website
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