Based on the late 80’s cop crime/drama starring Johnny Depp, this modern theatrical retelling of 21 Jump Street is a far cry from the innocent TV drama of yester year and has been adapted for the youthful hard-R comedy lovers of today.
In 2005 there was an Eminem juggling wannabe named Schmidt (Jonah Hill) who had the brains in high school but not the brawn. On the flip side, there was a good looking and popular high school jockey who was as dumb as sh*t named Jenko (Channing Tatum). After graduating on semi-miserable notes, the two meet up again at the police academy and forge a mutually beneficial friendship based off of each others’ talents. After a drug bust gone hilariously bad, the two are reassigned to Jump Street where their new Captain, played by an angry Ice Cube, welcomes them to their new task force where it is their job to go to high school and uncover the source of crazy new drug that has four insane side effects. The only problem for duo is that they don’t know how the cool American teenager has actually evolved over the past 10 years.
21 Jump Street has a ton of laughs for any slightly immature soul out there aka men between the ages of 13 and 30 and women who don’t take things too seriously. Without spoiling the punch lines, some of the goodies you can expect to see include Giraffe f*cking, Channing Tatum wielding an invisible light saber, Ice Cube embracing the black cop stereotype, a Korean Jesus and Nick Offerman actually calling out the unoriginality of the movie and Hollywood, it was brilliant! This is a story that was ripe for a contemporary retelling, an adaptation that I can actually be proud of and the action comedy America has been waiting for, at least in the mainstream realm.
What made the movie work so well was the chemistry Hill and Tatum had on screen. It felt as if they were actually brothers, despite their appearances, and the fact that there was a role reversal from their time in high school 10 years prior made it work even better. It was their performances and the ridiculous, and actually pretty accurate/smart, script that carried the film. I think this picture has officially turned me into a fan of Mr. Tatum, something I never would have imagined if you asked me four years ago. Also, even in his slimmed down form, Jonah Hill managed to not lose his funny factor, something I’m sure a lot of people might actually be concerned about going into the feature.
I can’t give all the credit to the two leads because the supporting cast, for the most part, did an excellent job, particularly Ice Cube (Friday), Chris Parnell (SNL), Ellie Kemper (Bridesmaids) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation). Anytime one of these performers was on the screen you were guaranteed a laugh or a chuckle. They enter and exit the scenes pretty quickly, except for Ice Cube, but still manage to deliver some great one-liners. Even if Ice Cube was over the top it was great to finally see him making people laugh again, it’s been way too long. Also, props to the teenagers playing the geeks, they kicked ass. The only disappointment was Ron Riggle (the “in your face” guy from The Hangover), he just wasn’t as funny in this one as he usually is.
It may not be the most original film out there but there is no doubt that 21 Jump Street will have you consistently laughing from start to finish. It won’t make you roll on the floor but if you’re like me and enjoy stupid and moronic comedies from time to time then this has definitely got to be your mainstream comedic choice for this weekend.
Rating: One of the better buddy cop action comedies in years. It’s better than The Other Guys (7/10)
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