Uptight suburbanite Earl Keese (John Belushi) is paranoid about his new neighbors, Vic (Dan Aykroyd) and Ramona (Cathy Moriarty). Ramona continually tries to seduce Earl (and everyone else) while Vic is loud and obnoxious, always telling off-color jokes and insinuating that Earl is less of a man than he is. Earl thinks that there’s something mentally wrong with Vic but Earl’s wife and daughter (played respectively by Kathryn Walker and Lauren-Marie Taylor) love both Vic and Ramona. Over the course of one very long night and morning, Earl grows more and more suspicious even as he starts to feel truly alive for the first time in several years.
Based on a novel by Thomas Berger, Neighbors is an unfortunate attempt at dark comedy that also turned out to be the final film appearance of John Belushi. It’s appropriate that Belushi’s final film featured him with his comedic partner and best friend, Dan Aykroyd, though I think most of their fans would rather remember them for The Blues Brothers than Neighbors. Originally, Aykroyd was cast as Earl while Belushi was meant to play Vic but the two actors decided to switch roles at the last minute. It takes a while to get used to seeing Belushi as an uptight character who worries about the neighbor’s dog digging up his flower garden but Belushi actually does give a good performance as Earl, revealing that he had more range as an actor that most suspected. Aykroyd and Moriarty also give good performances, though Aykroyd’s performance is not as much a departure as Belushi’s. Earl is an amiable eccentric with several out-there beliefs, which also sounds like a good description of Dan Aykroyd.
Why, despite the talented cast, does Neighbors fail? Director John G. Avildsen was the wrong choice to direct the film. From the first shot of Earl and Vic’s two houses sitting on a hill and looking like left-over sets from The Addams Family, Avildsen directs in a cartoonish manner that is not appropriate for a comedy-of-manners. The book’s humor comes from Earl becoming progressively more and more unstable but, in the movie, Earl seems to be unhinged from the start. Bill Conti’s musical score drives him every point with a thudding obviousness. Conti’s style was perfect for the soaring anthems of Rocky but not for a comedy like Neighbors.
Unfortunately, this would be Belushi’s final film. Neighbors was released in December of 1981. John Belushi died four months later.
Through the Shattered Lens 
I´m still regularily listening to the 3 LPs the BLUES BROTHERS recorded. MONUMENTAL music!
I was literally devasteted when I learned of his passing. I was 15 back then and hand seen ANIMAL HOUSE as a re-run a year or two ago and the BLUES BROTHERS upon release. Also seen the one with Nicholson, in which John played a small role, and of course OLD BOYFRIENDS, in which John sings three amazing vocals, which only made it on a super-scare promo LP on Columbia, which was cancelled when the movie failed.
That´s soon 43 years ago, his passing. Meanwhile his wife Judy is gone and also the part-time singer/hooker/drug-dealing female, who gave him his last shot.
I wonder what´d become of him, would he still be alive. Would he´ve made great movies like Bill Murray? Or at least good ones like his “bro” Dan? Would he´ve recorded more records?
I don´t mind or miss all the other comedians, who died in the last decades, including that one with the large bycicle collection, who killed himself. Or that 200+ pounds guy, who also only reached 27. I even forgot their names. I knew them back then, but not anymore. But I DO MISS John. For me he is THE one “lost chance” of those 50 years. The promise, that was never fulfilled. He could have given us so many more laughts. BUT NOOO!! It´s a real real shame that he died so early for no understandable reason at all.
But even in such a short life he left a legacy: 3 phenomenal records, 5 movies, of which 2 are GREAT, and many sketches from S.N.L., a format that´s totally – sorry – “fucked up” today with just a bunch of “idi***” still appearing there.
John was a candle that burned fast and bright and he´s still remembered by many, whilst many others are long forgotten.ň
R.I.P.
LikeLike
PS: I am NOT referring to John Candy above (the 200+ pounds guy), and he was 43 when he died in his sleep from an heart attack. RIP, he also gave me a lot of laughs.
LikeLike
Terrific review…it should have been great, but as much as I love Dan Aykroyd, they made a disastrous decision to switch roles….Belushi should have been unhinged…his mild-mannered stick-in-the-mud performance was everything we didn’t want form him
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, a stupid idea indeed. And the movie is a mess. One of only 2 J.B. movies (the other was that J. Nicolson western) I only watched twice (the 2nd time to make sure that my first impression was correct, and unf. it was). Never again.
I even watched OLD BOYFRIENDS 3 times … 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I’m not a “they can never stretch as an artist” type person – he did the romcom route in “Continental Divide” and while not perfect it was entertaining to watch – your point about the wrong director for the film is spot on!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, I totally forgot about CONTINENTAL DIVIDE!! How could I?!! Yes, that was a very good romantic comedy. Michael Apted was a great director, probably the best John worked with: that guy made COAL MINER´S DAUGHTER (one of my fav´s), THE SQUEEZE and GORKY PARK, just to name his best know ones.
John did indeed show a wider range in this one and I am sure he´d have been GREAT in many more to come (he could have developped like Bill Murray, me thinks), would he not … sigh.
He indeed was a multi-talent with a great “unorthodox” spirit. That´s also what cost him his life, his hunger for experimentation, try it all, live to the fullest.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great points!
LikeLiked by 1 person