Neighbors (2014) - Stoller's low-flying raunch turkey

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+ Most Overrated Movie of the Year 

 

Silliness is promised on this simple poster for Nicholas Stoller's Neighbors

 

With a newborn baby, our protagonist couple have entered a new phase in their lives and relationship, which is inconveniently clashing with their being neighbors to a house where a college fraternity now moves in...

 

Neighbors is written by Andrew Jay Cohen and Brendan O'Brien  (The House (2017), both) and directed by great British-American filmmaker Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)).

Not the experience of becoming parents, nor that of turning 25, 30 or 35, (it is unclear how old they are meant to be exactly), seems to have matured our protagonists to any meaningful extent. - Their dialog has a 'fucking' demonstratively placed in just about every sentence they utter, seemingly because that would make their lines funny, or? (The rationale is dubious at best.)

In any case they just aren't funny, and neither is the frat house next door. Neighbors goes on as a dick-obsessed, very low-flying, poor comedy, which even in its big party scenes didn't make me remember why parties can be fun.

It is a shame that the talented Zac Efron (At Any Price (2012)) finds himself in this cowpat, while it seems more natural that the other stars should sometimes appear in this type of trash. A 'milking scene' with Seth Rogen (Pam and Tommy (2022, miniseries)) and Rose Byrne (Annie (2014)) is the lightest moment in the film and somewhat amusing. Otherwise this amoral drinking and drugs-thrilled burp of a film is long and unfunny.

 

Related posts:

Nicholas Stoller: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

The Muppets (2011) or, Man or Muppet? (co-writer)
Get Him to the Greek (2010) - Brand and Hill light up Stoller's funny music biz satire (writer-director)
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  
Gulliver's Travels (2010) or, Gulliver's Travesty (co-writer) 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - Stoller and Segel triumph with hilarious, multifaceted romcom 

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) - Powerhouses Carrey and Leoni buoy Parisot's uneven farce (co-writer) 

 

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 18 mil. $

Box office: 270.6 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 15.03 times its cost)

[Neighbors premiered 8 March (South by Southwest Film Festival, Austin, Texas) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place in 38 days from March - May 2013 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 49 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weekends (#2-#4), grossing 150.1 mil. $ (55.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 26.9 mil. $ (9.9 %) and Germany with 18 mil. $ (6.7 %). Stoller also directed sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) with also the stars returning. This was Stoller's return, with an episode of The Grinder (2016, TV-series) in between. Efron returned first with a voice performance in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II: Villains in Paradise (2014, TV movie) and theatrically in We Are Your Friends (2015); Rogen in 22 Jump Street (2014). Neighbors is certified fresh at 73 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Neighbors?

Sorrow and Joy/Sorg og Glæde (2013) - Malmros' film of his life's major tragedy

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The poster for Nils Malmros' Sorrow and Joy exudes the gravity of the film

 

Filmmaker Johannes returns home one day in 1984 to his home, as a tragedy has taken place: SPOILER His mentally ill wife has murdered their 9 months old baby.

 

As in most of his previous films, personal real-life experiences also dictate this film by co-writer-director Nils Malmros (Tree of Knowledge/Kundskabens Træ (1981)), which takes place in his own, very Jutlandic environment. Sorrow and Joy is elegantly shot (by Jan Weincke (Aching Hearts/Kærestesorger (2009)), debuting digitally) and told, to a large degree through flashbacks, as Johannes (Malmros' alter ego) tells his story to his psychiatrist.

Central are the two phenomenal, strong lead performances: Jakob Cedergren (Submarino (2010)) even looks like the loving, chronically distanced Malmros, and Helle Fagralid (Reconstruction (2003)) succeeds in getting us to understand the wife and her condition. In well-played supporting parts Nicolas Bro (Men & Chicken/Mænd & Høns (2015)) and Søren Pilmark (Kon-Tiki (2012)) can be enjoyed.

SPOILER Not until the end, when Johannes gets permission to make the film we are watching, - and maybe also during the trip to Berlin, - does one feel the strangeness that rests in the fact that Malmros here has staged the tragedy of his own life, (which almost no one else ever does.) It is both exhibitionistic and narcissistic in some way.

Sorrow and Joy is co-written with John Mogensen (Facing the Truth/At Kende Sandheden (2002)). In its best scenes, it is beautiful, because it shows a relationship which is built on heartfelt love.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 21.5 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 3.2 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Unknown (but likely a big flop)

[Sorrow and Joy premiered November 7 (in Malmros' native Aarhus, Denmark) and runs 107 minutes. The last piece of the budget (2 mil. DKK missing) came from an old schoolmate of Malmros, who had been a LEGO board member. Filming took place in Jutland, including in Malmros' own garden. The title is loaned from a 17th century hymn by Thomas Kingo. Danish media granted Malmros anonymity around the time of the tragedy, so Malmros himself chose to go public with his tragedy with the film, which was well-received by Danish critics and public: 270k tickets were sold in Denmark, (especially to older ladies) which is considered a very good performance. The film was the Danish Oscar-submission of the year but didn't get nominated. It won one Robert award (out of 11 nominations) and no Bodils, out of 3 nominations. It was screened at 7 international film festivals, but the international gross is not public. 814 IMDb-users have given Sorrow and Joy a 7.1/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Sorrow and Joy?

Daisy Diamond (2007) - Staho's feel-bad baby drama

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+ Best Feel-Bad Movie of the Year

The elegant and ominous poster for Simon Staho's Daisy Diamond

QUICK REVIEW:

Anna is a single mother with her baby girl Daisy. She attends auditions, but Daisy disrupts with her screams, and there is no one there to help Anna out.

Daisy Diamond is the 4th feature from Danish writer-director Simon Staho (The Miracle/Miraklet (2013)), co-written with Peter Asmussen (Bridgend (2015)). It is a relentlessly gloomy, unpleasant film, which plays with our perception of the narrative's reality more than once at Anna's auditions that mirror her personal misery.
It features an impressive ensemble of fine Danish actors headed by Swede Noomi Rapace (The Drop (2014)), who gives herself over to her part and Staho to an impressive degree.
The film is wild, daring and uncompromising. Everyone is a bastard, which also comes over a bit one-sided. - The colossal Weltschmerz that drives through Daisy Diamond is somewhat sophomoric, and its seemingly unending close-ups are at times vulgar. Also, the confessional scene with Dejan Cukic (Borgia (2011-14)) doesn't work.
Still, Daisy Diamond is an intensely nightmarish, subjectively realistic drama.

Related posts:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a preview for the film with English subtitles here

Cost: Reportedly 1 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown (but undoubtedly a mega-flop)
[Daisy Diamond was released November 23 and runs 99 minutes. It was shot in Brøndby Strand, Denmark. Only 2,337 bought admission to the film in its native country. It has been shown at 6 international film festivals, and Rapace won the two top actress honors in Denmark of the year, the Bodil and Robert awards, for her portrayal of Anna. Trine Dyrholm (The Celebration/Festen (1998)) was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at both functions for her acting in the film. Controversy arose in Sweden due to possible abuse of the babies used as actors in the film, without any response given from Staho or Rapace. Daisy Diamond has been given a 6.1 rating by 829 IMDb-users.]

What do you think of Daisy Diamond?