At just 19 Chloë Grace Moretz is already a recognisable face and name in Hollywood, and she's up to trouble in her latest adventure with Seth Rogen and Zac Effron in 'Bad Neighbours 2'.
Her most notable role could still be Hit-Girl from the 'Kick-Ass' franchise; the first of the series released in 2010 where audiences were introduced to the foul-mouthed youngster who was more interested in getting a butterfly knife for her birthday than a puppy.
Since then Chloë has already worked with directorial legends such as Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.
Her latest film 'Bad Neighbours 2' – as the title suggests – is a sequel to the 2014 comedy smash-hit starting Seth Rogen and Zac Efron who are both back in force.
'Bad Neighbours 2' follows Mac (Rogen), his wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) and their ex-neighbour and rival Teddy (Efron). The couple seek to take down their new neighbours, the sorority sisters of Kappa Kappa Nu led by Shelby (Moretz), and they need Teddy's insider nose.
“So basically I try to rush the sorority and Selena Gomez is the President of that sorority,” says Chloë. “Her sorority is the typical, 'do good girls in white dresses, talking about southern duvets'. That’s kind of the opposite of the girl Shelby is. And that’s what starts her wanting to create her own sorority which is an 'anti-sorority' sorority in the terms of what sorority’s are supposed to be culturally.
“So of course, with [Mac and Kelly's] luck I end up starting a sorority because I am unhappy with the status of women in college, not being able to make their decisions in the sororities. We end up forming a sorority and we need a house and we end renting the house directly next door them... They try and stop us from partying, we deny that vehemently and we end up getting into some trouble.
One of the strongest elements in the original film was Rose Byrne as Kelly. Instead of the typical sensible wife you may find in a Kevin James comedy, Kelly was keen to get in on the act of taking down the frats; showing a strong woman who isn’t there to just sigh and role her eyes at hubby. This theme is continued into the sequel.
“It was definitely important for me to show all the different sides of women. Women aren’t just always in the kitchen cooking dinner, and they're also not just these perfect CEOs with nice little pants suits. Women can be just as loud and just as ridiculous and just as debaucherous as the boys can. So I really wanted to show that women can make the same mistakes as boys can, 'cause everyone is 19 at some point.”Character development was a big element in the first film. Underneath the big gags and humour-filled rivalry was really the story of new parents worried they can no longer have 'fun' in the way the frats can. And the lead frat, Teddy, saw his future in the family next door and realised he doesn’t want to lose what he has at college.
While obviously not wanting to give anything on the story Chloë explains there is a similar arc in the sequel. One of the main goals of the film is to show sororities in a different light. “There’s definitely a nice little character story between the girls and friendship and finding each other. There’s a nice cultural story there that is very relevant.”
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Of course Zac Efron is back in the film, but like Apollo Creed in 'Rocky 3', he is here to help his formal rival take down and even greater foe. So it seems like 'Bad Neighbours 2' wants to raise the stakes on all levels and attract as large of an audience as the original did with its strong female element.
'Bad Neighbours 2' is in cinemas 5 May.
