DbcultAccessing Vault...
6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Next Door Neighbors remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s slapstick and guys constantly losing their cool. If you need a movie that respects your intelligence or has a plot that goes somewhere new, skip it. You’ll probably hate the relentless noise, but if you like watching people get annoyed in ways that feel painfully familiar, you might get a kick out of it.
Howard Green is just trying to write a song. That’s it. But his apartment building is like a vortex of bad timing. Every time he sits down at the piano, someone is there to ruin it.
It’s not subtle. It’s not trying to be. It feels a lot like Noisy Neighbors, just with more piano playing and more people yelling through thin walls.
The pacing is… frantic. It feels like everyone is running on double-speed coffee. Edgar Kennedy is in his element here, doing that slow-burn frustration thing he does better than anyone else. You can practically see the steam coming out of his ears.
There’s this one bit with the landlord that drags on about ten seconds too long, and by the end of it, you’re kind of rooting for Howard to just snap and throw the piano out the window. It’s funny, but it’s also exhausting.
It reminds me a bit of the chaos in The Newlyweds' Troubles, where the setup is so simple it’s almost stupid, yet it works because you’ve lived it. Who hasn’t had a day where the world just won’t shut up?
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a meal. But it’s a quick snack of a movie that doesn’t demand much. Sometimes, that’s all you need on a Tuesday night. 🎹