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Thursday, May 26, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS
MUSIC REVIEW
‘Neighbors 2’ is
comical but safe
By ALEX INTNER
Summer Managing Arts Editor
I loved “Neighbors” when it burst
onI loved “Neighbors” when it burst
onto the scene two years ago. I saw
it in a room
full of college
kids
at
the
State
Theatre
who
greeted
each
joke
with
raucous
laughter. Maybe
it
was
seeing
“Neighbors 2” in
a barren theater
in the middle
of a Saturday
afternoon, but the film didn’t pack
the same comedic punch as the
first one. The movie takes a slightly
different spin on the first film’s
fraternity moving next door, but it
only shines when it gives its talented
cast something different than the
first film.
“Neighbors 2” again follows Mac
(Seth Rogen, “The Interview”) and
Kelly (Rose Byrne, “Spy”) Radner,
who, in this film, are in escrow on
their house when a sorority moves in
next door and a familiar war begins.
The Radners and the sorority trade
pranks, as the Radners push to get
the sorority out before they mess
with the sale of their house while
the sorority pushes to party.
There’s
a
through
line
to
“Neighbors 2” that’s quite smart,
and it lies in how the film justifies
a sorority moving in next door.
Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz, “The
5th Wave”) and her friends create
Kappa Nu after finding a frat party
disgustingly sexist and learning
sororities aren’t allowed to throw
parties on their own. Throughout
the movie, they point out moments
of sexism. For example, when Zac
Efron’s (“High School Musical”)
character,
Teddy,
says
them
throwing used tampons at the
Radner’s house as a practical joke
is disgusting, they point out the
double standard by asking him
“What would you say if it were a bag
of dicks?” In addition, the climax
of the film features a moment in
which Teddy and Kelly convince
the sorority girls to stand by its
principles no matter what happens.
I wish the film put a little more
emphasis on this aspect because it’s
what separated the comedy from
“Neighbors.”
However,
where
“Neighbors”
thrived was in its absurd, crass,
crude and hysterical comedy, and
“Neighbors 2” was able to bring some
of that back. Each member of the
ensemble — starting at the top with
Rogen, Byrne, Efron and Moretz,
supporting performances by Ike
Barinholtz (“The Mindy Project’),
Carla Gallo (“Men of a Certain Age”)
and Dave Franco (“Now You See
Me”), and going down to cameos
by Hannibal Buress (“Why? with
Hannibal Buress”), Lisa Kudrow
(“Web
Therapy”)
and
Kelsey
Grammer (“Partners”) — brings
something to the table. There’s
an extended sequence that takes
place at a football tailgate where
the Radners are trying to stop the
girls from selling weed and making
enough money to keep their house.
The sequence brings in a large group
of the cast and is visually ambitious,
as chase sequences move through
crowds and across large distances.
It also features Barinholtz dressed
up as a clown, which is hysterically
terrifying as he frequently pops up
out of nowhere.
Though,
“Neighbors
2”
had
laughs, it faltered in its repetitiveness
and close ties to the first film. Many
of the jokes and situations felt oddly
familiar, as the film followed a
nearly identical story arc to the first
one. There were parties, airbags
and foul, gross-out jokes that felt
too familiar. While it’s fun to see
Rogen and Efron play the characters
I enjoyed so much in the first film,
the sequel didn’t do quite enough to
differentiate the jokes they gave the
characters in the first film (though
Efron did get some leverage out of
his arc, which focused on him failing
to move on from college).
That’s really the sticking point
behind “Neighbors 2.” If it wasn’t
so tied to the first film’s arc, it could
have fully embrace how a sorority
makes it a different type of comedy
and let its ensemble work with a
more diverse set of material. Those
aspects were the glimmers of hope
I clung to in what was an otherwise
disappointing movie that relied too
strongly on the ideas of the first and
without the same level of comedy to
back it up.
Chance paints positive
picture in deep ‘Book’
Rapper ventures into
gospel territory in
colorful album
By SHAYAN SHAFIIW
Daily Arts Writer
Before there were the likes
of Common, Kanye West, Lupe
Fiasco and Chance The Rapper,
the South Side
of Chicago was
home to Black
artist
and
activist Pastor
T.L.
Barrett.
Barrett
worked
with
the
Chicago
Youth
Choir
in
1971
to
release “Like A Ship Without
a Sail” — a gospel/soul classic
that
encapsulated
an
intense
commitment to revitalizing the
South Side and keeping kids off
the streets. Over 40 years later,
Barrett’s
work
continues
to
influence the various artists and
activists coming out of Chicago
today. While it seems much of
the music coming out of the city
aims to burn Chicago to the
ground, artists like Chance The
Rapper and Kanye West have
recently
undergone
noticeable
shifts towards a more religiously-
charged sound, channeling the
influences of their faith and
relationship with a higher power
as vehicles of betterment for their
communities.
Like
Kanye’s
The
Life
of
Pablo, Chance’s Coloring Book
is
arguably
an
unorthodox
“gospel album,” yet its message
is
accessible
regardless
of
personal
denomination.
The
album is an exaltation of the
simpler
things:
“Don’t
forget
the happy thoughts.” Though
much of Coloring Book feels like
“Ultralight Beam: The Album,”
the
project
is
unmistakably
Chance’s; his fingerprints are all
over the details of each song, like
the perfectly arranged trumpet
harmonies and trademark ad libs.
Choir vocals, belting in unison, are
a fixed presence throughout, and
both ‘Ye and Kirk Franklin make
their respective appearances.
The intro, “All We Got,” has
both
shades
of
early-2000s
backpack-rap and elements of
soul, blended with muffled Kanye
vocals and synths. This time,
Chance doesn’t have to cede
the limelight, and he uses the
opportunity to spread those nice,
warm, fuzzy feelings. It’s the type
of unfiltered ecstasy that can’t
be faked; you hear it when the
horns kick in and his vocals go up
a register: “Man I swear my life
is perfect, I could merch it / If I
died I’d probably cry at my own
service!” The song closes out with
backing vocals from the Chicago
Youth Choir, essentially picking
up where Pastor Barrett left off.
This is music for the kids who
need it most.
The video for “Angels” features
Chance literally flying around
Chicago like a superhero, “cleaning
up the streets” so his “daughter
can have a place to play.” I imagine
this is what it would have looked
like if Barrett had Internet access
in 1971. The birth of Chance’s
daughter seems to have triggered
a certain maturity and level-
headedness that allows him to be
a representative of his community
— the type of “famous rapper”
that brags about having the same
phone
number
since
seventh
grade. He shows a shocking
amount of self-awareness, even
“threatening” to make music with
Chief Keef. He’s comfortably the
biggest independent artist in hip
hop right now. He can do what he
wants.
Part of what makes Coloring
Book such a special album is it’s
exactly what Chance intended
to make; there are no gimmicky
Drake
features
or
product
placements.
As
the
music
industry (and specifically hip-
hop culture) become increasingly
corporate and gentrified, songs
like
“No
Problem”
celebrate
the possibilities of authentic,
independent music: “If one more
label try to stop me, it’s gon be
some dreadhead n****s in ya
lobby.” 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne
also make notable appearances
on the back of their Collegrove
collaboration. Tity Boi delivers
his inevitably hilarious verse,
channeling the Most High by
being just plain high (“Man I’m so
high, me and God dappin”). The
whole song is driven by frenzied
gospel samples, sliced and mixed
unpredictably
without
ever
settling in place.
Chance has a knack for weaving
between heavy and playful topics,
and this is what makes him more
of an MC than a pastor. Earlier
this year, he signed a petition to
have free music considered for the
Grammys, and on Coloring Book
he’s dedicated an entire track to
mixtapes: a sacred, and — more
importantly — free outlet for
listening to some genre-defining
projects. This one’s for the fans
who have ruined perfectly good
computers by digging too deep on
Datpiff. Mixtape-god Young Thug
and fellow Atlanta weirdo Lil
Yachty trade verses, while Chance
showcases his lyrical dexterity
with a surprising triplet flow.
“Mixtape” and other album cuts
like “All Night” are nice breaks
from the intermittent sermons,
showing Chance can make “hits”
when he feels like it.
Much of the early dialogue
surrounding the album has been
characterized by a disdain for the
religious cuts and an adoration
of the more accessible tracks.
Most hip-hop heads probably
scoffed when they saw the track
title “Blessings” was important
enough to appear twice on the
same album; I can only imagine
how many eyes rolled when “How
Great” kicked off with 3 straight
minutes of isolated choir vocals.
It feels like the profession of
being an artist can be reduced
to letting the world in on your
personal
development.
Some
overcome their adversities and
impart
elation
onto
listeners
through music, and others let us
wallow with them in the misery
of defeat. It doesn’t matter if you
attribute the peaks and troughs of
your life to a higher power, your
own series of calculated decisions
or plain old luck. If music is to
be our soundtrack, through its
ups and downs, Coloring Book
is a reminder that shit is going
to be alright, regardless of your
personal belief system. Isn’t that
something we’d all like to believe
A
Coloring
Book
Chance the
Rapper
B
Neighbors
2: Sorority
Rising
Universal
Pictures
Rave & Quality 16
FILM REVIEW