When ‘Bad Neighbours’ was announced, film critics would have been forgiven for exhaling in the form of a sigh; Seth Rogen – despite a loyal, cult fan base, has been the face of some pretty terrible films; it’s only the brilliant ones that grant him ‘incosistant’ status rather then ‘rubbish’. And with Zac Efron still making the transition from quasi-Bieber to friend of Franco-comedy, the jury was always going to be sceptical.

Bad NeighborsEfron and Dave Franco star in 'Bad Neighbors'

But it would appear as though Efron and Rogen – under the tutelage of director David Stoller and given words by Andrew J. Cohen & Brendan O’Brien – have nailed it. The jokes are crude, of course, and the punch lines are often stupid, but this simple tale of youthful exuberance v a middle class yearning for comfort is an entertaining romp, for sure. 

“Rogen and Efron are enjoyably yin-yang - one playing a reformed slob who's paranoid that he's sold out, the other a frequently shirtless party boy who gets mean when he runs out of better ideas,” wrote The Daily Telegraph’s Tim Robey. “There is greater truth and insight concerning the human condition here than you might reasonably expect from a foul-mouthed mainstream comedy,” explained Little White Lies’ Adam Woodward. 

“Rogen and Byrne spark well together and Efron is an amusingly primped doofus while director Nicholas Stoller keeps the energy going despite scattershot plotting,” writes Henry Fitzherbert for The Daily Express, while Elliot Noble of Sky Movies suggests it’s “Stupid, irresponsible, sweary, puerile, overloaded with pop culture references, and shamefully funny: Friday night just found its perfect partner.”

With a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and little else to see this weekend – unless you’re in the U.K and you fancy some ‘Blue Ruin’ – ‘Bad Neighbours’ could be tonight’s perfect movie. 

Watch the trailer for 'Bad Neighbours' here