Neighbors, good and bad

Gay, Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox (Yossi & Jagger, The Bubble) ventures into Almodovar's arena with the colorful, sugar-coated coated comedy Cupcakes (Strand). On the night of the UniverSong competition, a group of friends and neighbors – gay schoolteacher Ofer (Ofer Schechter), lesbian singer/songwriter Efrat (Efrat Dor), assistant to the Minister of Culture Dana (Dana Ivgy), blogger Keren (Keren Berger), former beauty queen Yael (Yael Bar-Zohar) and baker Anat (Anat Waxman) – gather together to watch the event on TV. That night, they also end up writing a song together which unexpectedly launches them into the running to represent Israel in the following year's UniverSong competition.

Looking for dramatic tension to balance the camp and comedy? Ofer's in a relationship with closeted Assif (Alon Levi), the spokesperson for his family's successful hummus biz. Socially awkward Keren's life revolves around her laptop. Anat's marriage is on the rocks. Dana, who has always followed her father's orders, is itching for a change. Efrat is growing weary of playing her music to small coffeehouse crowds. Yael's in a dead-end relationship with an offensive and sexist lawyer (Lior Ashkenazi). With their chance to make it big right before them, the sextet is determined not to let anything get in their way and get to Paris to compete.

Fox proves himself to be as adept at comedy as he is at drama. Cupcakes also features tunes by Scissor Sisters' Babydaddy (aka Scott Hoffman). Don't be surprised if you walk out singing. In Hebrew with subtitles. [Cupcakes screens as part of the 9^th annual Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at The Music Box Theatre on Southport in Chicago and at 11 a.m. on Nov. 7 at AMC Northbrook Court in Northbrook. For more info: israelifilmchi.org.]

The loud, boisterous, physical comedy Neighbors (Universal) could have gone either way, but thanks to a (relatively) restrained Seth Rogen and an unhinged Zach Efron, it's one of the funniest movies of 2014. Essentially the story of the lengths people will go to insure that their baby sleeps through the night, Neighbors is the latest in a new breed of stoner/revenge comedy.

Married couple Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) have sunk every penny they have into the house they own on a quiet street where they live with baby daughter Stella (Elise Vargas). The site of a gay couple talking to a realtor in front of the house for sale next door to theirs is cause for celebration to Mac and Kelly.

Their joy is short-lived, however, when that house is purchased by a fraternity desperate to find new digs far from campus following the burning down of their previous residence. At first they reach an agreement to keep the peace, promising to contact Teddy (Zac Efron), the frat's president, directly about the noise level before calling the police. Unfortunately, during one particularly raucous and late night party, Teddy doesn't answer his mobile when Mac calls, and so the police are summoned.

What sets Neighbors apart from your average frat boys versus the squares saga, aside from Efron's body (which appears in various states of undress), is the utter insanity of the comedy. As homo-erotic as it is hetero, druggy and dirty, vengeful and very funny, Neighbors is legitimately funny from start to finish. You will never look at car airbags the same way again, guaranteed. Blu-ray+DVD+Digital bonus features include an outrageous alternate opening, deleted and alternate scenes, gag reel and much more.

Beth (Aubrey Plaza), the titular character in Life After Beth (A24/Lionsgate), lives in a safe, gated community with her parents Maury (John C. Reilly) and Geenie (Molly Shannon). But that doesn't prevent her from being bitten by a poisonous snake and dying while on a hike.

Beth's death devastates her family as well as her boyfriend Zach (Dane DeHaan), but things are about to get worse and weirder. A resurrected Beth digs her way out of her grave and returns home. Beth is, of course, unaware that she has risen from the dead.

At first, Maury and Geenie try to keep Beth's return a secret from Zach. When he eventually finds out about Beth and tells his parents Noah (Paul Reiser) and Judy (Cheryl Hines) and security guard brother Kyle (Matthew Gray Gubler), they think he's had a psychotic break.

None of this stops Zach and Beth from picking up their relationship where they left off before her death. That is until Beth begins to undergo a zombie transformation, becoming weirdly strong, undergoing extreme swings in mood and appetite, seeking comfort in smooth jazz, and physically decaying. When another young woman, Erica (Anna Kendrick), enters the picture, it only hastens Beth's alteration.

Arriving on DVD just in time for Halloween, Life After Beth should have been funnier. The cast members, young and old, bring years of comedic experience to the fore, but instead, Beth is DOA. As zom-coms go, you get more chuckles and chills from Warm Bodies and Zombieland.

DVD special features include deleted scenes, audio commentary by writer/director Jeff Baena, Plaza, DeHaan and Gubler, and the featurette Life After Beth: The Post-Mortem (in which we learn the film was inspired by Baena's reading of William Blake and Jacques Derrida!).