Fraternities and sororities, be warned. “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” is not like “Old School” – this latest film, starring Seth Rogen, takes a harsh view of American Greek life. The movie sharply parodies fraternity culture, repeatedly attacking Greek life and its traditions as backwards and sexist.
The film follows three female college students: Shelby (Chloë Grace Moretz), Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie Feldstein), who form their own sorority after encountering boorish frat brothers and rampant sexism at the first traditional frat party they attend.
Former fraternity member Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) later tries to defend his Greek hijinks and asks the girls why they would ever want to form their own sorority.
“What’s wrong with fraternity parties?” he asks. “We threw great parties here. ‘Pimps and Hoes,’ ‘CEOs and Corporate Hoes,’ ‘Boise Boys and Ida-Hoes…’”
“They’re like super sexist. Every party is themed ‘hoe,’” points out Shelby.
When Teddy thinks critically about his frat experience, he is immediately mortified at his own behavior. “Oh god. Yeah I see your point,” he quickly concedes.
The examples of sexist behavior in “Neighbors 2” are exaggerated — but not by much. The movie does a credible job, for the most part, of accurately representing its source material. Examining Greek life critically, the movie proposes, yields an unavoidable conclusion: There are real problems with the fraternity and sorority system.
This message is admirable. Movies and television like “Animal House” and “Blue Mountain State” celebrate and enable crude behavior from college kids, especially men. The lesson in “Neighbors 2”— encouraging students to pause and think for a second about this culture — is by contrast refreshing, sensible and important.
Of course, this is a Seth Rogen movie, so everything else in the film falls far out of the realm of sensibility. There are plenty of jokes about sex and drugs, and plenty of Rogen’s typical physical self-deprecation. These gags are uniformly funny — Rogen dodging shirtless through a crowded tailgate holding a trash bag full of weed and wearing a tiger bandana sticks in the memory, for example. Cameos by Billy Eichner and Hannibal Buress do not disappoint. Efron, too, delivers a solid performance, showing he has come a long way as an actor since his days of teenage stardom. The movie is worth a few quality belly laughs regardless of its stance on Greek life.
For the college student, however, the movie presents a valuable perspective, one which runs contrary to much of the modern entertainment existing around fraternities and sororities. “Neighbors 2” may be indelicate, but regardless, it is worth thinking about.
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