Bad Neighbors sinks to new lows

THE basic premise behind Bad Neighbors - rowdy frat house boys move in next door to suburban couple not far removed from their own college days - may not be especially original, but it does set the stage for any number of shenanigans and funny situations to take place. Unfortunately, the film never comes close to realising its comic potential, giving way instead to a sense that something has gone terribly wrong.

The comedy is lame, the pranks are painfully crude and Bad Neighbors is merely, well, bad.

A clash of cultures occurs when young 30-somethings learning to cope with parenthood are compelled to unleash their inner adolescent in order to face off against a bunch of college kids with raging hormones and undisguised juvenile tendencies. Given the comic credentials of Seth Rogen (Superbad, Knocked Up) and Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and the presence of teen idol Zac Efron, there was a good chance that Bad Neighbors would rise above the level of typical Hollywood fluff.