21 Jump Street (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'21 Jump Street' (directed by Phil Lord, Chris Miller) takes the 25 yr. old TV cop show & amps up the comedy level ... big time. The film starts out in the year 2005 as a mismatched buddy flick. It's high school, and Schmidt (a slimmed-down Jonah Hill) is a socially awkward nerd who doesn't know how to act around girls. Jenko (Channing Tatum) laughs at guys like Schmidt; being the popular, dumb, jock a-hole that he is. But fast forward 7 yrs. and you find that they're both buddies now; having survived adolescence, gotten through the police academy, & became subsequent partners. Before long, it becomes obvious that they aren't cut-out for normal everyday cop work; and they are assigned to the secret Jump Street Squad, led by angry Capt. Dickson (a fun Ice Cube).
Because they look younger than they are, they are ideal candidates to return to high school, scope out the student body, & infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying students a dangerous new drug. In a role reversal, Schmidt ends up hanging out with the cool kids (SO not him when he really was in high school) and Jenko falls in line with the geeks (... you get the gist). Still, Schmidt's unease around girls is not cured by his new popular status, as is proven when he chills with cute blonde, Molly (Brie Larson); his co-star in a school play ('Peter Pan' - guess who Schmidt plays). But Schmidt makes contact with the student selling the drug, Eric (Dave Franco, James' younger bro), while Jenko tries to figure out whether anyone might be using the chem lab to make the drug. Chaos & hilarity ensue.
'21 Jump Street' is a big conglomeration of: mismatched buddy flick/bromance/cop movie/action movie. But is it also a satire? A colossal joke? A thriller? A heartwarmer? Probably a little of all and ... it certainly makes for an absurd mix (like too much of a good thing). BUT, there's a cheerful goofiness throughout the proceedings that is infectious. I laughed a lot. Then again, my entire theater (mostly teens) was riotous. All that said, good & bad, my main issue with the film is that it goes on too long (a good 15 min.). There are about 4 instances where I thought I was witnessing the last set piece, and yet, the film kept going. There's a neat cameo that enlivened me, a bit. But as said, I was getting a little antsy for it to be over with. Like many comedies, after a great set-up & building momentum, you discover that that the jokes & go-for-broke gags are frontloaded.
Now, when the film is funny, it's FUNNY. I enjoyed how the film lampooned a tendency for things to blow up during car chases (as normally happens in action flicks). I like that the film makes reference to the practice of having older actors play teens in high school flicks. i.e., at one point, Tatum is told that he looks 40 yrs. old {haha}. Some of the funniest lines belong to Ice Cube; who barks orders with the 'f' word interspersed throughout. Speaking of that ... a lot of R-rated comedies feel the need to include profanities at such a high rate. This movie falls into that trap, too. But again, the cheerful goofiness of the script (co-penned by Jonah Hill, himself) makes it forgivable. My 2 favorite set pieces include a sequence where Schmidt & Jenko have to take the drug & try to hide their symptoms -- a talking cat head and band room hijinks made me laugh my butt off. And lastly, the whole Peter Pan performance-gone-wrong had me in stitches.
Thematically, I like that the film says something about those 10 yrs. after high school is over. Jenko owned high school. Schmidt was the ultimate dork. And yet, it took this undercover mission to show them how easy it is to be the opposite of that. Post-high school is a strange time for many people; where everything that defined you becomes irrelevant. Jonah Hill's writing is absurd, his performance is absurd, but there's a sweetness to him that goes down very easy. And Tatum is hysterical, here. I can't figure him out. Saying that he's a good actor gives me a bad taste in my mouth. I think he's more of a confident ham than anything else. And he plays 'dumb' so very well. Though some of the humor missed & the film goes on too long, Hill & Tatum make '21 Jump Street' a fun endeavor, for sure.
Because they look younger than they are, they are ideal candidates to return to high school, scope out the student body, & infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying students a dangerous new drug. In a role reversal, Schmidt ends up hanging out with the cool kids (SO not him when he really was in high school) and Jenko falls in line with the geeks (... you get the gist). Still, Schmidt's unease around girls is not cured by his new popular status, as is proven when he chills with cute blonde, Molly (Brie Larson); his co-star in a school play ('Peter Pan' - guess who Schmidt plays). But Schmidt makes contact with the student selling the drug, Eric (Dave Franco, James' younger bro), while Jenko tries to figure out whether anyone might be using the chem lab to make the drug. Chaos & hilarity ensue.
'21 Jump Street' is a big conglomeration of: mismatched buddy flick/bromance/cop movie/action movie. But is it also a satire? A colossal joke? A thriller? A heartwarmer? Probably a little of all and ... it certainly makes for an absurd mix (like too much of a good thing). BUT, there's a cheerful goofiness throughout the proceedings that is infectious. I laughed a lot. Then again, my entire theater (mostly teens) was riotous. All that said, good & bad, my main issue with the film is that it goes on too long (a good 15 min.). There are about 4 instances where I thought I was witnessing the last set piece, and yet, the film kept going. There's a neat cameo that enlivened me, a bit. But as said, I was getting a little antsy for it to be over with. Like many comedies, after a great set-up & building momentum, you discover that that the jokes & go-for-broke gags are frontloaded.
Now, when the film is funny, it's FUNNY. I enjoyed how the film lampooned a tendency for things to blow up during car chases (as normally happens in action flicks). I like that the film makes reference to the practice of having older actors play teens in high school flicks. i.e., at one point, Tatum is told that he looks 40 yrs. old {haha}. Some of the funniest lines belong to Ice Cube; who barks orders with the 'f' word interspersed throughout. Speaking of that ... a lot of R-rated comedies feel the need to include profanities at such a high rate. This movie falls into that trap, too. But again, the cheerful goofiness of the script (co-penned by Jonah Hill, himself) makes it forgivable. My 2 favorite set pieces include a sequence where Schmidt & Jenko have to take the drug & try to hide their symptoms -- a talking cat head and band room hijinks made me laugh my butt off. And lastly, the whole Peter Pan performance-gone-wrong had me in stitches.
Thematically, I like that the film says something about those 10 yrs. after high school is over. Jenko owned high school. Schmidt was the ultimate dork. And yet, it took this undercover mission to show them how easy it is to be the opposite of that. Post-high school is a strange time for many people; where everything that defined you becomes irrelevant. Jonah Hill's writing is absurd, his performance is absurd, but there's a sweetness to him that goes down very easy. And Tatum is hysterical, here. I can't figure him out. Saying that he's a good actor gives me a bad taste in my mouth. I think he's more of a confident ham than anything else. And he plays 'dumb' so very well. Though some of the humor missed & the film goes on too long, Hill & Tatum make '21 Jump Street' a fun endeavor, for sure.