Neighbors 2 Sorority Rising

In many ways "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising" falls for the same trappings that comes with sequels to R-rated comedies. Meaning that it felt compelled to toss in twice as many jokes on screen, tried to be more outrageous, tried to share several more lessons we need to know about, and still maintain the heart and spirit of the original. Did it succeed? Yes and no. The comedy is hit or miss based on your tastes of course, and while I liked the story the whole thing didn't feel like it was glued together that well. 

The tag line concept for the movie is "parenthood vs sisterhood" and it's not a bad one. While there are also themes about brotherhood and ageism here, the primary message is about sexism and equality. Yes, there is a feminist statement being made in this movie, and there will be people who will automatically hate this just because of that fact. The thing is that this movie tries to have it's cake and eat it too, by containing some scenes (and music) that actually goes against what it's preaching. Some of those scenes were done ironically, but there are other scenes that didn't. All the same though, it seems like they mean well anyway. 

Even though the whole movie felt a bit kludgy, I was honestly entertained by it still. The whole cast are enjoyable to watch, with a lot of kudos towards Zac Efron for playing a fun but ridiculously unbelievable character (how does he not know what boiling water is?!!). Just like Efron's character, a lot of the jokes don't really make sense, but the movie doesn't really seem to care. If a joke makes you laugh, even if it's stupid, then it wins. That seems to be the primary strategy of this movie, which is to throw as many jokes at you; even if it's nonsensical, and hope that most of them stick. 

Besides the feminism equality angle, "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," in the end feels like it's just another crazy R-rated comedy. I had fun watching it, but I think the first one resonated with me more. 

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