Les voisins

Leonerd Maltin's crazy. This movie was before it's time and had me puking. It's been on cable every day for the last few months and I've watched it every time. The ideas behind this movie are awesome. Watch this movie just for the swamp and the tow truck driver. May be Dan Ackroyd's best performance.

The people at Columbia must have thought this was a surefire winner when they saw the inital idea for this film; with a simple but potentially funny premise and two capable and talented stars, how could it miss?

Unfortunately it does and by a long way. The blame for this shouldn't be at Belushi and Aykroyd's feet as they do what they can with their limited roles; the blame should be with an unfunny and illogical script and very uninspired direction. As a result, there are only a couple of amusing moments in the film.

Two things underline what is wrong with this film. Firstly, the film's music score is atrocious (some earlier reviews disagree on this); it's so heavy-handed and obvious that it almost single-handedly ruins the comedy potential of the film's opening scenes. The film may have been better off without a music score at all.

Secondly, the character of Enid Keese is so poorly constructed that she negates to a large extent the laughs created by the three other main characters in the film; her character simply makes no sense. For example, when her daughter comes back and announces that she has been kicked out of school, while Earl is understandably upset by this Enid hardly seems bothered by it at all.

In the times I have seen this movie(too many to count). I always find more to it.I enjoy this lost classic from the late great John Belushi more than so many over produced conventional movies and more than almost all of the SNL cast made movies.Belushi and Acroyd,a duo who didn't do enough together.

See this movie!

not a mainstream comedy by any means This movie fails on nearly every front but has 2 things going for it, the cast, its an almost forgotten piece of Ackroyd and Belushi in their prime, secondly its off kilter pace and atmosphere, these alone are enough to give it a place in my collection.

If your not into either of the above then give this a wide berth as its sure to disappoint. apparently the film had a difficult gestation and this seems plausible as its very inconsistent and aimless at times, shifting gear unexpectedly. an eclectic and patchy dark comedy it should suit die hard fans who want to see more of A&B

Anyone familiar with John Belushi's work will remember him as rarely being reputed for his subtle acting style. While Aykroyd delivers his usual quality performance, for me, the brilliance of the film lies in Belushi's performance as a suburban loser. They say that outsiders are the best observers of any culture. Examples might be De Tocqueville's book Democracy in America or even Christian Bales's performance in American Psycho. In Neighbours, Belushi is no exception. He plays the suburban American loser better than the real thing! Consider his appearance, his sexual frustration, the way he automatically goes for the TV when he gets home, how he expects his wife to make dinner when he comes home from work... In fact, he's so devoted to this role that through the entire film he manages to invariably avoid slipping into the hysterical personality that made him famous. He is fantastic at satirizing everything that his lifestyle defies.