If ever two genres of film were inextricably intertwined, it would seem to be the frat house movie and the gross-out comedy. After all, do frats ever do anything that's NOT gross? Not in the movies, they don't.

"Neighbors," starring (and produced by) Seth Rogen and directed by Nicholas Stoller, proudly straddles these two genres and boldly tosses in a third: The "We've-just-become-parents, NOW-what?" movie. You know these: Baby arrives, cute as a button but bringing ALL kinds of trouble, and then things are resolved in a syrupy sweet finale.

It's safe to say that syrupy sweetness is not a problem with "Neighbors." In fact, it is noisy, crude, profane, gross, and sometimes mean. Luckily, it's also extremely funny, and you'll realize by the end that it has some heart, too.

Most importantly, what it may suffer in narrative coherence it makes up for with a first-rate cast — the reliably funny Rogen, the game-for-anything Rose Byrne, and in the most pleasant surprise, a truly excellent Zac Efron as an immature, narcissistic, vindictive and, by the way, unbelievably buff frat leader whose obnoxious brio might just be masking deeper issues. (Zac, as a parent who had to watch the "High School Musical" films at least 400 times, maybe more, let me just say: I forgive you now.)

Rogen plays Mac Radner, a young father who clearly hasn't smoothly completed his transition to adulthood. He still dreams of the epic partying he once engaged in. And so does his wife, Kelly (Byrne, beautiful as always, and energetically foul-mouthed here.) When a friend suggests an evening at a rave, Kelly and Mac want to go so badly, they decide to bring baby. But they spend so much energy gathering up the stroller, the car seat, the breast pump and the cooler, that they collapse in a heap by the front door. Parenthood ain't easy.

Still, the couple's doing pretty well in their new suburban digs. Until Delta Psi moves in. Right next door.

At first, Mac and Kelly try to make nice with the frat's leader, Teddy (Efron), who's such a fine physical specimen that Mac calls him "something a gay guy designed in a lab." Debating the least geeky way to say "could ya keep it down?" they head next door, and end up partying all night, just to show how cool they are. But soon, the noise is too much, and they're calling the cops. The war is on.

The script by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien misses no opportunity to mine frat-film clichés. Beer pong? Check. Stunts involving dildos? Check. But it's quite well done, thanks to the nimble comic instincts of Rogen, Byrne, Efron and also Dave Franco as Pete, Teddy's right-hand man at the frat, who unlike his buddy, actually seems to be aiming for a productive future. (Lisa Kudrow, in a small role as a college official, is reliably zany.)

Occasionally the humor goes awry — or just too far. A baby munching on a used condom? "What's that you have there, sweetie, a balloon?" Mac asks. (Cue the delighted groans in the multiplex.) Maybe the joke could have stopped there. But it doesn't.

And how about the visual gag involving, well, a nursing woman's breasts? Was that really necessary?

On a brighter note, there's a priceless bit in which Mac and Teddy bond by trading inter-generational "Batman" impressions: Teddy does Christian Bale, and Mac does Michael Keaton. Another fun scene involves the frat guys trying their hand at Robert de Niro impressions.

At a certain point, the movie starts to feel like an extended "Saturday Night Live" skit, with not much concern for narrative progression. But few people will complain.

And a closing scene that was improvised, placing a shirtless Rogen and Efron in front of an Abercombie & Fitch store, is not only funny but surprisingly touching. It helps that Efron looks exactly like an Abercrombie model.

Again, nobody will complain.

 

'>B?ns?? 0? t-size:11.5pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#333333;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'>Not a bad start for a low-budget film that initially struggled to gain financial backing. "No one wanted to invest in a first-time director with dark material and real teenagers," says Coppola.

 

But she didn't run to her film world relatives for cash. "It was important for me to do it on my own," says Coppola, who gained behind-the-scenes experience working on Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Twixt." ''James and I wanted to keep it small and not have a second party involved."

Taking an acting gig in the 2013 thriller "Homefront," Franco used his salary to help pay for "Palo Alto." ''It was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," says Coppola. "He really stuck by me."

Coming from a family with a history of making films about teenage turmoil, Coppola was determined to find her own voice.

"I love my aunt and my grandpa's movies about teenagers and they are definitely influences, but they are different movies," she says.

"It's important to do your own thing and not necessarily try to emulate your family," says Roberts, whose father is Eric Roberts and aunt is Julia Roberts. "Gia has such a specific vision. A lot of what is good about this movie is what isn't said. In real life there is a silence and you don't know what to say and you're embarrassed."

When Coppola agreed to make "Palo Alto," she felt she hadn't really experienced much else in life other than having been a teenager. "That was the only story I could tell honestly," she says.

Coppola spent her "awkward" high school years in Los Angeles with her mother. (Her father died in a boating accident before she was born.)

"At the time, I was so uncomfortable," she recalls of her adolescence. "(As a teen) everything is a big deal and you act in extreme manners. After getting older I was able to look at things calmly."

Coppola says she's been influenced by filmmakers like Federico Fellini, David Fincher and Lena Dunham.

"When I saw that (Dunham) was successful it felt like there was a chance for everyone," she says.

Next Coppola plans to direct a music video for Blood Orange, the artist behind the synth-heavy music in "Palo Alto."

"I want to challenge myself in a new way," she says. "But it always has to have some sort of personal connection for me to feel excited about it."