The top movies on the Netflix global chart are pretty diverse this week, from recent originals like Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca to horror pictures such as The Purge: Anarchy and Cadaver. Sneaking onto the list, however, is the Seth Rogen-starring Neighbors, with the 2014 comedy currently sitting at sixth place in the worldwide rankings. Why, then, might the pic be getting so much love right now?
One possible answer is that Neighbors is a light, dependably funny movie and as we all know, it’s been a fairly bleak last few months. The Nicholas Stoller-directed production sees Rogen pair up with Rose Byrne as a husband-and-wife duo with a young child who have to deal with a fraternity moving in next door. Led by Zac Efron’s Teddy, the college kids soon end up in a war with Rogen and Byrne’s Mac and Kelly Radner, setting up some ingenious sequences.
I caught up with Neighbors, or Bad Neighbors as it’s sometimes called, a couple of years ago. Compared to a lot of other comedies of a similar tone from the last decade, it’s arguably a cut above, helped by strong central performances and a commitment to stretching the possibilities of its premise. Critics and audiences were positive about the film, too, which also went a long way towards confirming that Efron is a talented comedic lead.
A sequel, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, arrived in 2016, and provided a solid female-focused spin on the original plot, making it worth checking out if you enjoyed its predecessor. Things have been a bit quiet in terms of a follow-up, although Rogen did produce a tongue-in-cheek short for his social media followers at the time of Sorority Rising‘s release.
If you’re looking for a low effort movie to take your mind off current events, then, Neighbors is a strong option, and stands up to repeat viewings, something that can also be said for the other Seth Rogen-starring titles currently available on Netflix.