Won't You Be My Neighbor

Ever since we became parents, I find myself more drawn toward stereotypical parental "grown-up" things. I see it in my increasing appreciation for brunch and media that is geared towards parents.  I really wanted to see Neighbors, because it intrigued me.  It's the first time post Knocked Up that we get to see Seth Rogen in the Role of Dad, so we decided to go for a date night last weekend.

Movie Review:  Neighbors

Summary

I blame Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo for the parental culture crisis my generation is facing today. Something about their painfully awkward portrayals of how incredibly uncool parenthood is has somehow amplified our arrested development.  The entire premise of the movie embraces this identity struggle we face as we redefine our image and wrestle with the demands of responsible parenthood and our inner teenager telling us to just be cool.

Best Parts of the Movie
Previews of the movie have succeeded in remaining spoiler free leaving some of the best moments of the film as a surprise.  Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen truly capture the awkwardness in their roles as young, hip wannabes and some of the intimate moments of their relationship feel real, as does the theme of brotherhood amongst Efron and Franco.

Worst Parts of the Movie
The movie had the basic framework to be funny and great, but I just wasn't laughing as often as I wanted to.  The escalating one upmanship of the movie has all the pieces but not quite the same heart as it's predecessors.  For those interested, there is a lot of shirtless Efron, but you have to pay the tolls by enduring the same amount of shirtless Rogen.

When would I Let Molly and Jack watch this movie?
I'd say this is a PG 13 type of movie that I would be comfortable with Molly and Jack watching as they approach their teen years.  There is swearing, vulgarity, nudity and drug/drinking reference - realistically nothing that they wouldn't be seeing in reality come junior high.  That being said, I'm also the parent who sat up watching Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle with Molly the last time she was sick.


Overall Rating
I would rate this movie 3.5/5. It's not Babysitter worthy*, but catch it on Netflix or TV when it came out.


*The parental version of Seinfeld's infamous "sponge worthy".

Want Multiple Momstrosity updates on Facebook click here