Characters / Neighbors (2014)

The Radners

Mac Radner

Played By: Seth Rogen

• Anti-Hero: His goals and general personality are definitely sympathetic (he just wants to raise his daughter in peace and is an affable guy) but he's barely more mature than the frat and does some pretty morally suspect things during the feud like property damage and trying to wreck friendships and relations in Delta Psi.
• Informed Judaism: Kelly in the first film said that he's Jewish, noting annoyance with them talking about their moms.
• Karma Houdini: Egged on by Kelly, he breaks the fraternity's water pipe, flooding their basement and causing thousands of dollars of property damage. The Radners would be looking at an extremely serious fine or even jail time, but luckily for them the cops never find out, likely because Delta Psi themselves don't want the police snooping around their house.
• Parents as People: He's a loving father but given to the same impulses and fantasies as his wife and not above wracking revenge on college students.
• The Stoner: While almost everyone else in the film is also this Mac fits the image best, bringing over weed to the frat house a peace offering, getting stoned while at work and realising Teddy's combination lock number could only be 420.

Kelly Radner

Played By: Rose Byrne

• All Women Are Lustful: She not only enjoys having sex, but she also has a pink vibrator that is known to be using.
• Anti-Hero: See Mac's entry.
• Awesome Aussie: She has Rose Byrne's natural Australian accent and is definitely not someone to mess with.
• Former Teen Rebel: Claims to have managed to avert The Bro Code before, and proves it by instigating infidelity by way of Girl on Girl Is Hot.
• Karma Houdini: She launches a firework directly into a police cruiser.
• Parents as People: She's a loving stay at home mom but she is given the same urges to have a lot of sex, has a vibrator her daughter likes to use as a doll, and is prone to wacky hijinks and revenge fantasies as her husband.
• The Vamp: Invoked. Her plan to break up Teddy and Pete's bromance is to make out with both Peter and Teddy's girlfriend and then coercing the pair into have sex. She also claims that this isn't the first time she came between two guys.
• Women Are Wiser: Defied and mocked when Mac asks her why she's not reining in his crazy revenge fantasies — she herself has those same urges.
  • Seth Rogen stated in an interview that the wife character was written in the usual way until he showed his real wife the script and she pointed out that she'd get just as into it as he did.

Stella Radner

• The Cutie: Super innocent and out of the drama in the two films, she also likes playing with her mother's vibrator, none the wiser for its use.
• Cuteness Proximity: Everyone around her turns into a squeeing, awww-ing pile of goo. Even the frat boys. Especially the frat boys.
• Morality Pet: To both the Radners and Delta Psi as a whole.
• Pink Is Feminine: Has a pink room and is attracted to girly, pink, princess-y toys and has an attraction to her mother's vibrator.

Delta Psi Beta

Teddy

Played By: Zac Efron

• Anti-Villain: He goes way too far with the feud but the film establishes he's not not really a bad guy, just an immature one who is desperately afraid of his limited prospects after college. By the end of the film he and Mac make up as friends.
• Big Bad
• Book Dumb: Teddy might be this. His grades are very poor (because he apparently never goes to class) and he's hopelessly naive about the 'legacy' of Delta Psi but otherwise he seems pretty sharp in contrast to the genuinely stupid likes of Scoonie and Garf. Notably he realizes the importance of winning over the neighbors (at least at first) and it's his idea to sell Delta Psi dildos, making the fraternity a lot of money.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Mac, upon seeing Teddy for the first time, says that Teddy is the sexiest guy he's ever seen.
• Everyone Has Standards: Is very immature. But even he is amazed at the stupidity of some of his fellow frat brothers, particularly Garf.
  • He is also disgusted by some of the antics of Kappa Nu, against the Radners, in particular when they throw used tampons at them.
• Evil Is Petty: Played straight at first when he and his frat torment the Radners after they call the police. Even though they did try calling him first and the police didn't even penalize them in any way.
  • Subverted later on when he forgives Pete for hooking up with his girlfriend, despite still feeling upset about it.
  • Subverted once again in the end when he makes peace with the Radners, despite all they went through.
• Future Loser: He is well aware of the fact that he's on the road to becoming this.
• Greater-Scope Villain: He tried to be this to Shelby's Big Bad in the first half of the sequel by acting as Kappa Nu's Evil Mentor on how to establish a sorority, however, when the sorority take things too far then Delta Psi ever done, Teddy gets kicked out, undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and decides to help the Radners.
• Karma Houdini: He would be facing several serious charges for his air bag prank, including theft, breaking & entering and battery, but Mac never bothers to report it because Police Are Useless.
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: But in the sequel, he has a criminal record thanks to the big party at the end of the first film, which prevents him from getting a better job than working at Abercrombie & Fitch.
• Manchild
• Mr. Fanservice: When you're played by Zac Efron, you're automatically this. It also helps him get a post-college career at Abercrombie & Fitch, and there's a prolonged Shirtless Scene at the end that seems to say "Thanks for watching, ladies, and now: here's the reason you bought a ticket."
• Slouch of Villainy: He delves into this at one point in the film, and is called out on "villaining out" by Pete.
• This Loser Is You: As Pete points out, Teddy has no real plans post-college, none of the frat's accomplishments were real, and he accuses Teddy of starting the war out of fear that he'll end up like Mac.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He still has a few moments of petty manipulation, but he is much nicer and laid back in the sequel, than he was in the original. Justified, as he is maturing as he gets older.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: For the most part. He eventually makes money on this by working for Abercrombie & Fitch.

Pete

Played By: Dave Franco

• Demoted to Extra: Returns in the sequel, yet he has less screen time then the first film, though not as limited as the other returning supporting characters.
• The Dragon/The Lancer: (Depending on how villainous you really find the frat) to Teddy.
  • The Evil Genius/The Smart Guy: Probably the only one who'd qualify as this.
• Establishing Character Moment: During the dildo creation scheme, Pete uses a scanner from one of his architecture classes to expedite the process. He mentions casually off hand that the others should go to class since the school has great resources.
  • The Deleted Scene meant to open the film has a more traditional version. As Teddy is rousing everyone for the frat's party, he opens Pete's door to find him studying. But once he tells Pete it's party time, he drops everything to join him.
• No Bisexuals: Pete has major Ship Tease with Teddy's girlfriend Brooke and has sex with her in the first film. Pete came out of the closet at some point between the end of the first film and the start of the second. In fact his boyfriend proposing to him indirectly causes the entire plot of the sequel by forcing Teddy to move out on his own where he ends up meeting Shelby and her friends and teaching them how to run a sorority. Bisexuality is non-existent in the film's in Pete's case.
• Only Sane Man: Pete is the sole member of Delta Psi who actually has plans for life after college. He's also the only character in the film who recognizes that the feud is getting out of hand.
• Token Good Teammate: The most moral of the group and actually has ambitions outside of the Frat. He's also the only one to point out that they're taking things too far with the Radners.

Scoonie

• Bigger Is Better in Bed: Plus a bit of Gag Penis
• Demoted to Extra: Returns in the sequel, yet he has less screen time then the first film.
• Signature Headgear: always wears a beanie, even during the audience with the dean.

Garf

Played By: Jerrod Carmichael

• Demoted to Extra: Returns in the sequel, yet he has less screen time then the first film.
• Too Dumb to Live: It takes a special kind of idiot to eat a pot brownie immediately before a disciplinary audience with the dean.
• Dumbass No More: He's noticably more on the ball in the second film where he has joined the police and seems to have his life pretty on track.

Assjuice

• Ambiguously Gay: Says he was awake when Teddy put his penis in his mouth.
• Butt-Monkey
• The Mole: Very briefly.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The only time his real name (Gary) is used is when Teddy talks to him after his freakout.
• Sequel Non-Entity: He's practically the only named speaking character not to show up in the sequel (along with Brooke whose role is even more minor.)

Kappa Nu

Shelby

Played By: Chloë Grace Moretz

• Action Girl: She is very determined to make sure that her sorority doesn’t dissolve. In the movie, she punches Jimmy, pushes Mac into a table and runs up a wall in Mac and Kelly’s house.
• Ambiguously Jewish: Kappa Nu holds a bat-mitzvah-style party for her after she loses her virginity.
• Anti-Villain: Shelby's immature and can be plenty vindictive but she's standing up against a sexist mentality at college where traditional sororities are not allowed to hold parties. And she's anxious about being on her own and doesn't want to lose the only friends she's made at college.
• Big Bad: Of the second movie.
• Friendless Background: Her parents are very strict, so she didn't have a social life in high school. Keeping Kappa Nu together and not losing the only friends she has is what motivates her during the film.
• Hypocrite: Despite all of her complaints about the sexist environment at college, she's fairly sexist towards men, but then has no problem taking orders from Teddy and use women's bodies as annoyances for Mac.
• Karma Houdini: She suffers no consequence for robbing the Radners whatsoever.
• The Stoner: While most characters are stoners Shelby's opening scene has her lighting up a joint and she later conducts a plan to corner the local market on weed.
• Straw Feminist: Played with. In her efforts to combat the sexist college environment, she adopts the same sexist attitude towards men. Somewhat reconstructed where she soon learns to respect several male characters like her father and Teddy, so her "straw" argument is that she MUST party with her sorority for a month to overthrow a sexist system which is a ridiculous solution to a real problem. That again gets reconstructed in the end where we really do see what she was talking about when her last resort frat party makes a lot of the girls uncomfortable and then finally throws a party where the guys fully respect women and vice versa.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In plot terms (and in some respects personality) she's a Gender Flip version of Teddy's role from the first movie. Naturally lampshaded by Teddy.

Beth

Nora

• Fat Best Friend: To Shelby; she is one of the co-founders of Kappa Nu.

Others

Jimmy

• Informed Judaism
• The Millstone
• Too Dumb to Live: Far and away the dumbest character in the films, and that's saying something. It's a miracle that he's still alive, let alone have a wife, a steady job, and a child on the way in the sequel.

Paula

• Hard-Drinking Party Girl
• Took a Level in Dumbass: While no genius in the original movie she is definitely dumber in the sequel. Despite being nine months pregnant she doesn't realise she is giving birth until her baby's feet are literally coming out of her. Even Teddy tries to tell her her 'cramps' are warning signs she's about to give birth but she doesn't believe him because she isn't due for another day.

Dean Carol Gladstone

Played By: Lisa Kudrow

• Demoted to Extra: Returns in the sequel, yet she is reduced to one scene on contrast to her more then one appearances in the first film.
• Manipulative Bitch: She threatens the Radners with spinning the news, after their daughter had a condom in her mouth, that the Fraternity could be seen as "responsible students practicing safe sex" whereas they'd look like irresponsible parents.
• Slave to PR: Has an extremely high regard for "good headlines".
• Women Are Wiser: Averted, she does scold the Fraternity but only for the sake of PR, and she can deflect bad PR if she could.

Officer Watkins

Played By: Hannibal Buress

• Demoted to Extra: Returns in the sequel, yet he has less screen time then the first film as he is only reduced to one scene which showcases that he enforces Police Brutality.
• Police Are Useless: He is extremely incompetent.
• Police Brutality: The sequel shows that he is quite abusive to suspects... so long as they're not black.