"Neighbors" is a loopy dark comedy, based on a novel by Thomas Berger. Although the screenplay is credited to Larry Gelbart, it was actually heavily re-written, and was a very troubled shoot. It stars 'Saturday Night Live' funnymen John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, in a classic case of role reversal. Here, Belushi is the straight man and Aykroyd the zany one. Belushi plays Earl Keese, a mild middle class individual living at the end of a suburban street. One night, the neighbors move in: pushy, obnoxious Vic (Aykroyd), and his extremely seductive wife Ramona (Cathy Moriarty, then hot off her memorable turn in "Raging Bull"). They introduce an element of excitement into Earls' mundane existence.
In this viewers' own humble opinion, this wasn't a particularly funny movie. Moments of real wit and cleverness are not that frequent. Director John G. Avildsen ("Rocky", "The Karate Kid") just doesn't seem to have a feel for this sort of material. Occasionally, "Neighbors" is amusing, but the main thing that it has going for it are some deft performances. Aykroyd clearly has fun in his part, and Belushi shows a different side to his comedic talent by doing an impressive job here. Moriarty is devilishly entertaining. Kathryn Walker ("Slap Shot") is fine as Earls' wife, as is Lauren-Marie Taylor ("Friday the 13th Part 2") as his free-spirited daughter. There are also a few appearances by Belushi and Aykroyds' fellow 'SNL' alum Tim Kazurinsky.
To be fair, there are some good lines, such as the one that motivates Earl to open his cellar door. I thought the scenes with Belushi and Moriarty were among the better ones. Bill Conti supplies a deliberately goofy music score.
It's also rather sad watching this, knowing this was Belushis' last film.
Five out of 10.
In this viewers' own humble opinion, this wasn't a particularly funny movie. Moments of real wit and cleverness are not that frequent. Director John G. Avildsen ("Rocky", "The Karate Kid") just doesn't seem to have a feel for this sort of material. Occasionally, "Neighbors" is amusing, but the main thing that it has going for it are some deft performances. Aykroyd clearly has fun in his part, and Belushi shows a different side to his comedic talent by doing an impressive job here. Moriarty is devilishly entertaining. Kathryn Walker ("Slap Shot") is fine as Earls' wife, as is Lauren-Marie Taylor ("Friday the 13th Part 2") as his free-spirited daughter. There are also a few appearances by Belushi and Aykroyds' fellow 'SNL' alum Tim Kazurinsky.
To be fair, there are some good lines, such as the one that motivates Earl to open his cellar door. I thought the scenes with Belushi and Moriarty were among the better ones. Bill Conti supplies a deliberately goofy music score.
It's also rather sad watching this, knowing this was Belushis' last film.
Five out of 10.