SYNOPSIS: Returning stars Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne are joined by Chloë Grace Moretz for Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2: Sorority Rising, the follow-up to 2014’s most popular original comedy. Nicholas Stoller again directs in a film that follows what happens when the will of parenthood goes against the bonds of sisterhood.

Now that Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) have a second baby on the way, they are ready to make the final move into adulthood: the suburbs. But just as they thought they’d reclaimed the neighborhood and were safe to sell, they learn that the new occupants next door are a sorority even more out of control than Teddy (Efron) and his brothers ever dreamed of being.

Tired of their school’s sexist, restrictive system, the unorthodox ladies of Kappa Nu have decided to start a house where they can do whatever the hell they want. When Shelby (Moretz) and her sisters, Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie Feldstein), find the perfect place just off campus, they won’t let the fact that it’s located on a quiet street stand in their way of parties as epic as the guys throw.

Forced to turn to the one ex-neighbor with the skills to bring down the new Greeks next door, the Radners—alongside best friends Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) and Paula (Carla Gallo)—bring in charismatic Teddy as their secret weapon. If he can infiltrate the sorority and charm his way through it, the thirtysomethings will shutter the Kappas’ home. But if they think that their Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising are going down without a fight, they have severely underestimated the power of youthful ingenuity and straight-up crazy.

REVIEW: It seems as though, whenever studios announce a sequel, the immediate thought almost always comes down to: “can they make a good follow-up?” Ninety-nine percent of the time, the reasons to follow up with a sequel seems be financially-based. Simply put, it’s to make more money, rather than there being a good story that desperately needs to be told. That’s especially true with many sequels to hit comedies. The chances of botching what worked in what was initially conceived as a standalone-comedy, tends to increase with each successive follow-up. There’s no better proof of this than the recent sequel to “Zoolander” (Not to imply that it [part 1] was great, by any stretch of the imagination).

While the plot in “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” is almost identical to part one, part two appears to be very much fast paced and consistently funny, from scene to scene. This allows it to not feel like a complete rehash on many levels. As well, there seems to be many more laughs in this sequel than there were in first flick (which does not always happen in comedy sequels, in my experience). Seth Rogen and Rose Bryne are always entertaining to watch on screen and have terrific comedic chemistry. The same can be said for the duo, Rogen and Zac Efron – they continue their winning comedic ways in this latest installment.

As I alluded to above, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” always has a joke seemingly in every scene; however, it does try to tackle some larger issues, with both success and failure. Part one featured an undertow of a good amount of heart beneath all of the hijinks, and so does Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2. It features characters dealing with figuring out who they are as college students, as post-graduates, and as parents of a growing family. I’m certain most can relate to at least one of the characters’ situations and surprisingly enough, the film handles it with a good amount of heart. Having said this, though, the flick does fall a little flat when it tries to tackle more serious topics such as sexism and feminism. Both the writers and director (Nicholas Stoller) don’t seem to have a good handle on either of those subjects and while the topics are certainly worthy of being discussed in the film, they don’t lead to anything particularly impactful in this case.

Overall, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2: Sorority Rising” is a very entertaining and worthy sequel to the 2014 hit. It features all cast members at their comedic best while the mostly recycled plot does not get in the way of how funny this movie actually is. In addition, it has just enough heart to make it more memorable than other comedy offerings, and although some topics aren’t as well handled as others, it is still nice seeing all involved, bring their A-game. I remember laughing out loud during the first movie; however, this latest effort brings that big deep-belly laughter while being a comedy with something to say. In the end, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” ends up being funnier than the original movie and a near-perfect sequel to the original. I would appear as though the formula of making the humor more gender-neutral helps significantly in making this sequel so intensely funny.

Three and a half stars out of five is a fair assessment of this latest release and I would certainly recommend viewing this one in theaters with family, friends or a significant other, in tow.