In the comedy sequel, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, life is good for Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) and pregnant wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) until the unruly sisters of Kappa Nu, led by Chloë Grace Moretz, Kiersey Clemons and Beanie Feldstein, move in next door. As the loud parties threaten the sale of their home, the couple turn to ex-neighbor and one-time enemy Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) for help. Now united with the former college student, the trio devises schemes to get the wild sorority off the block. Unfortunately, the rebellious young women refuse to go down without a fight. The ladies of Kappa Nu, Chloë, Kiersey and Beanie, don’t think they’re as bad in real life as they are in the movie, well, except for maybe Chloë who explains:
“I don’t know if I’m a good neighbor to be honest because I call the cops on everyone [laughs]. No one knows this about me, but just yesterday, there were some hooligans on the empty lot next to my house. It was like 6:30 PM and they were doing all sorts of things like smoking ganja and I called the cops.”
Kiesey: You’re the worst ever!
Chloë: I’m a citizen you know. Just don’t park your car in front of my house or it’s going to get towed. I don’t know if I’m grouchy or good but that’s my story.”
Beanie: I have a really weird story. I was with my friend Ben. He was in the changing room next to me and we’re telling each other about our clothes. All of a sudden, I hear this deep male voice, that’s not my friend Ben say, ‘123 ABC Street? [I’m not going to give my real address]’ I was so freaked out. Then he said, ‘it’s me, Mr. Putnam, your next-door neighbor.’ I was like, ‘that’s a really weird move dude [laughs].’
Chloë: That’s really pervy.
Beanie: He’s really nice actually. He rescued my dog once.
Kiersey: He probably kidnapped your dog so he could give it back.
Beanie: No!
Kiersey: I have no interesting stories. My neighbor right now is hot. I’ll tweet about it if something happens. I’m not pervy, but I definitely pay attention to the women that come in and out.
Chloë: You’re like [Sex and the City’s] Samantha Jones.
Keirsey: Yea, one time he dated a girl with braids, so I got braids one time. I got nothing. He’s not interested [laughs].
As with many of us nowadays, the characters in the movie are on their phones a lot. There is an ongoing societal debate about whether technology is making us more or less connected.
Chloë: We were talking about this recently. We are all old enough to remember when Facebook started or when Twitter started and Instagram or apps or when the first iPhone came out. We kind of saw that happen, but when we try to talk to kids who are like 12 or 13, they are so more adept at technology and social media and things like that. I think there’s much more of a disconnect with that age group. For us, I feel we’re slightly more in touch. I realized it makes our attention spans shorter, though. Unless the conversation is incredibly enthralling, it makes you shut off that much quicker.
Beanie: We were doing a read-through of the script and I remember Nick’s eyes lit up and he said, ‘there are no phones written into this movie.’ Every college kid is on their phone. That’s how you socialize. That’s how you make plans, et cetera, et cetera. There ended up being a great scene in the movie with Zac where Kappa Nu has a moment with Teddy around the phones.
Kiersey: There are pros and cons with us being able to be so connected. It’s amazing when you’re away from your family and you can see what everyone’s doing. I don’t need to ask Chloë what she’s been doing because I know what she’s been doing. I have friends and we think that we’ve met each other because we see each other online. It can help friendships and conversation or it can hurt them.
Of course, there’s no way three young women can star in a movie with Zac Efron and not be asked about Zac Efron. The ladies dished about whether his onscreen earnestness is reflective of his offscreen personality as well.
Kiersey: Our relationship with him in real life is like how it was in the movie in terms of him asking, ‘are you guys hanging out in the trailer? Oh, can I hang out too?’
Beanie: It’s funny you asked us about his personality instead of his body. We get so many questions like, ‘how do you stop yourself from licking him?’ He’s my coworker!
Chloë: It’s like, ‘how can you not have a hot man in front of you and not swoon completely?’
Beanie: He is just as earnest and kind and warm. He’s just a great dude and we all really respect him a lot.
Kiersey: And his body IS nice.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is now playing in theaters.
