Freeview film of the day: Bad Neighbours
Everybody needs good neighbours. But it proves difficult for Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne when frat boy Zac Efron and his crew move in next door.
Bad Neighbours ★★★
Premiere 9.00-10.50pm C4
Released in the US without the prefix “Bad” – which was added in other territories to ward off confusion with the Aussie soap – this bawdy smash-hit frat-house comedy was improved in script development by giving Seth Rogen’s barely graduated character a wife (Rose Byrne) and new baby. An assured alumnus of the Apatow school (Get Him to the Greek, Bridesmaids), Byrne’s role gives the otherwise hairy-palmed farce a layer of depth, as the couple cope with a fraternity moving into the house next door. Zac Efron mines good comedy as gym-bunny nemesis Teddy, but it’s the dilemma of Rogen and Byrne – protective of their infant daughter, but desperate not to appear uncool to their student neighbours – that makes it interesting. It’s a descendant of late-70s classic Animal House, but with added responsibility,and director Nicholas Stoller wrings every drop out of the riotous party scenes, while Lisa Kudrow twinkles as the college dean. A disappointing sorority-angled sequel followed last year.
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