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Post by jimanchower on Jun 13, 2019 3:29:32 GMT
I like neighbors just because it's so off the wall and Dan Ackroyd's bizarre performance cracks me up. It's not exactly a "so bad it's good movie" but I like it more for it's weirdness than it actually being a good movie.
Anyway I rewatched it today and it's just amazing that a major studio made this movie. The score is ridiculous and cartoony, the performances are hammy. The characters have zero motivation and they flip flop so quickly from friends to enemies to friends again that it's hard to keep track of, there's no story or plot....stuff just happens.
Nothing in it makes sense. I've always wondered how much of that was intentional and how much of it was just bad movie making. Obviously Belushi was a trainwreck by the time the movie was made but it's not like he wrote the script or directed it. I remember when I first watched it years ago I was baffled by why Earl went from being friendly with Vic to mortal enemies with Vic trying to kill Earl back to friends again, all with no rhyme or reason.
Neighbors is one of those movies where with just a few tweaks it could have been so much better. I think if the tone of the movie had been less cartoony and the performances a little more subtle it could have been a great dark comedy. I get that it's supposed to be kind of surreal and kafka-esque but it's just not done well. One of my favorite movies, After Hours, explores the same themes and genre and that's a great movie. It's mostly played straight which makes the bizarreness really funny because of Dunn's reactions.
Just a shame that this was Belushi's last movie.
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Post by jimanchower on Jun 14, 2019 15:22:10 GMT
I like neighbors just because it's so off the wall and Dan Ackroyd's bizarre performance cracks me up. It's not exactly a "so bad it's good movie" but I like it more for it's weirdness than it actually being a good movie.
Anyway I rewatched it today and it's just amazing that a major studio made this movie. The score is ridiculous and cartoony, the performances are hammy. The characters have zero motivation and they flip flop so quickly from friends to enemies to friends again that it's hard to keep track of, there's no story or plot....stuff just happens.
Nothing in it makes sense. I've always wondered how much of that was intentional and how much of it was just bad movie making. Obviously Belushi was a trainwreck by the time the movie was made but it's not like he wrote the script or directed it. I remember when I first watched it years ago I was baffled by why Earl went from being friendly with Vic to mortal enemies with Vic trying to kill Earl back to friends again, all with no rhyme or reason.
Neighbors is one of those movies where with just a few tweaks it could have been so much better. I think if the tone of the movie had been less cartoony and the performances a little more subtle it could have been a great dark comedy. I get that it's supposed to be kind of surreal and kafka-esque but it's just not done well. One of my favorite movies, After Hours, explores the same themes and genre and that's a great movie. It's mostly played straight which makes the bizarreness really funny because of Dunn's reactions.
Just a shame that this was Belushi's last movie.
Nobody is a fan of Neighbors?
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Post by ck100 on Jun 14, 2019 15:38:31 GMT
Apparently this movie had a troubled production with the director and Belushi and Aykroyd having lots of conflicts, the director having conflict with the producer, the heavy use of cocaine on set according to Aykroyd, the script being regularly rewritten, etc.
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Post by movielover on Jun 14, 2019 15:43:56 GMT
I haven't watched it in many years. It was something of a letdown when it first came out, considering how popular Aykroyd & Belushi were at the time.
It actually got a little better to watch over time as great expectations lowered. It's interesting to see Belushi playing the straight man, such a rarity.
I think of the movie as a quirky, dark comedy that bombed when it first came out.
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Post by ck100 on Jun 14, 2019 15:46:27 GMT
I haven't watched it in many years. It was something of a letdown when it first came out, considering how popular Aykroyd & Belushi were at the time. It actually got a little better to watch over time as great expectations lowered. It's interesting to see Belushi playing the straight man, such a rarity. I think of the movie as a quirky, dark comedy that bombed when it first came out. I've heard Belushi deliberately chose to play the straight man to help shake off any typecasting he got from his Animal House character. |
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Post by movielover on Jun 14, 2019 15:51:53 GMT
I haven't watched it in many years. It was something of a letdown when it first came out, considering how popular Aykroyd & Belushi were at the time. It actually got a little better to watch over time as great expectations lowered. It's interesting to see Belushi playing the straight man, such a rarity. I think of the movie as a quirky, dark comedy that bombed when it first came out. I've heard Belushi deliberately chose to play the straight man to help shake off any typecasting he got from his Animal House character. I can understand that.
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Post by msdemos on Jun 14, 2019 16:00:34 GMT
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Jun 14, 2019 16:06:27 GMT
Hated it.
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Post by kingkoopa on Jun 14, 2019 16:06:55 GMT
ck100That was my understanding as well. I like this movie quite a bit. It seems to have been forgotten to the sands of time (for whatever reason). "Neighbors" and "What About Bob?" are the ones that come up in my hall of fame of sadly forgotten comedy gold. Belushi and Ackroyd had a great back-and-forth. It was nice to see them switch it up in "Neighbors" where Ackroyd played it big and Belushi played it straight, as it was a contrast to "Blues Brothers", in which they were equally enjoyable. There are not a lot of comedic actors who can 'switch shirts' like that. Two thumbs up for "Neighbors" big time.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 14, 2019 16:58:33 GMT
Was it similar to The Burbs at all? Seems like a similar premise.
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Post by msdemos on Jun 14, 2019 18:07:17 GMT
Was it similar to The Burbs at all? Seems like a similar premise. Kinda like a "Bizzaro World" version of 'The 'Burbs'.....though The 'Burbs (1989) was at least MARGINALLY entertaining.....  SAVE FERRIS
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jun 14, 2019 23:03:12 GMT
I actually enjoy the surreal and anarchy nature of this midnight movie. The humour can be very hit or miss, but I was somewhat drawn into it all because of its unpredictable energy and nocturnal atmosphere.
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Post by jimanchower on Jun 15, 2019 3:23:11 GMT
ck100 That was my understanding as well. I like this movie quite a bit. It seems to have been forgotten to the sands of time (for whatever reason). "Neighbors" and "What About Bob?" are the ones that come up in my hall of fame of sadly forgotten comedy gold. Belushi and Ackroyd had a great back-and-forth. It was nice to see them switch it up in "Neighbors" where Ackroyd played it big and Belushi played it straight, as it was a contrast to "Blues Brothers", in which they were equally enjoyable. There are not a lot of comedic actors who can 'switch shirts' like that. Two thumbs up for "Neighbors" big time. I wouldn't call it "comedy gold" exactly. Like I said I like it but it's more in a "WTF were they thinking?/WTF is going on?" kind of way. It's not a bad movie but it's not great either. I've always found it interesting just because of how fucking weird and nonsensical and random it is.
It has some funny parts and lines and for whatever reason it keeps my interest when I watch it. I always crack up at that scene where they're all at the dinner table and Dan Ackroyd says something, I think he says "or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" or something like that, anyway, Belushi replies "don't you ever talk to me that way in my own house" and Ackroyd replies "why would I?" Then Belushi replies "you just did!".
It's such stupid dialogue but it makes me laugh every time. Dan Ackroyd asking Belushi if he wants to try his daughter's panties is another so weird it's funny scene.
Like I said, I like it but it's one of those movies that could have been really great, with that cast and director and premise but for whatever reason it just didn't work and that to me is almost as interesting as a great film.
From what I've read it wasn't Belushi's idea to switch roles, it was the director. I have no idea if that's true or not but I was just reading articles about the movie and read that somewhere.
I just bought the novel so hopefully that will shed some light on why they go from being enemies to friends to enemies constantly in the movie. In the movie it makes zero sense and like I said I've always wondered if it's not supposed to make any sense at all or if the movie just failed in conveying what's supposed to be happening. It would make more sense if the movie took place over a few months or a year or something but it all happens in what, a day? Maybe 2?
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Post by jimanchower on Jun 15, 2019 3:27:16 GMT
Was it similar to The Burbs at all? Seems like a similar premise. Kinda like a "Bizzaro World" version of 'The 'Burbs'.....though The 'Burbs (1989) was at least MARGINALLY entertaining..... SAVE FERRIS The Burbs was a OK but I've always thought it was a let down. Saw it opening night in the theater and it just never clicked for me. It's another movie that could have been much better with just a few different choices. But they played it safe and made it into a pretty average 80's Tom Hanks movie. Not bad but not terribly interesting either.
I'll take Neighbors over the Burbs any day because trying to figure out what the hell is going on in it and where it went wrong in real life is more interesting than the Burbs, IMO.
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