2012 Review #12: 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street

Rated R

1 Hour 49 Minutes

Starring

Jonah Hill

Channing Tatum
Ice Cube
Dave Franco
Brie Larson

Story

A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring."Re-Make" of the television show that started in 1987 starring Johnny Depp.

Rotten Tomatoes Score

85%

"A smart, affectionate satire of '80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes, 21 Jump Street offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite."

My Grade

A-

I've never seen an episode of the 80's show this movie is based on. From what I understand though, this movie is more of a parody of the show and not so much a re-make even though it does follow the same premise. There was actually a pretty solid joke in the film said by Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) in a cameo. It went something like "apparently they are re-opening a task force from the 80's. and rehashing old crap expecting that no one will notice." This was a blatant crack at the movie industry constantly re-making old movies and pretending like we don't care or that we don't know whats going on over there in Hollywoodland. Funny thing is, this IS a remake of sorts, so it's poking fun at itself. Awesome.

21 Jump Street pokes fun at its absurdity quite often actually. It's a movie that's essentially spoofing those old teen/high school comedies that were so popular in the 80's and 90's. Where the kids are played by people in their late 20's, early 30's and no one notices. Well here we have Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill who play best friends who helped each other get through the police academy, even though they were sort of enemies in high school. At any rate, there are more than a few jokes that reference how old these guys look to be in high school. A movie that is aware that it's ridiculous and makes fun of itself for those issues...amazing.

Of all the movies I've seen so far in 2012 (only 12 as of this posting), this is by far the funniest movie. It's the funniest (is that even a word) movie since Bridesmaids last year. It's perhaps the biggest surprise I've seen in a while. I, and I think along with a lot of critics, were expecting this movie to be kind of a bomb...but it was far from that. The movie was an absolute riot, and the whole audience I was with were laughing their collective asses off right along with me. It's littered with off the wall, slapstick humor and there's nothing "intelligent" about the comedy in this one. There is a scene with the two guys trying to arrest a perp and when they finally pin him down they start making sexual gestures towards him and shooting their gun off in the air. All the while one of them forgets the Miranda rights. Another part has them on bicycle cop duty and there is a montage of them doing really pointless things like fetching a frisbee out of the water. So one of them gets it then chucks it farther out into the water and says "get your own fuckin' frisbee!". Ha!

It really pays homage to the classics of years past. Lot's of respect is paid to movies like Ferris Bueller, American Pie films, Superbad, Animal House, movies like that. The movie does not hold back, which why I was so surprised to see so many older/elderly people in the theater. I mean, 75% of the audience was in their late 60's-early 80's, and I'm not exaggerating. I think they were expecting a movie that was just like the show and would be PG kind of fun. This movie is rated R and has about 200 uses of the F bomb and a plethora of dick jokes. There are scenes of teachers hitting on a student she thinks is under 18, there is even a shot of blown off penis. But, a lot of them were laughing hysterically so good for them! So the movie isn't clean fun, but it's fun nonetheless. The first half of the film is a laugh a minute riot. The second half gets more "serious", meaning the story kicks into high gear and the jokes are spaced out. All of the action scenes come in the second half and they are pretty cool to watch. A couple jokes about car chases and things constantly exploding.

Jonah Hill, who just got an Oscar nomination for his role in the Best Picture nominated film Moneyball, has firmly established himself in the comedy film world. Maybe he's not everyones cup of tea, but I think he's one of the funnier people in the business. His deadpan delivery can cause an audience to roar with laughter. For me though, the star of the show was the surprisingly hilarious Channing Tatum. Up until now I just figured he was some terrible young pretty boy actor who stars in silly dance movies. I've never paid much attention to him either way, so this is honestly the first time I've ever seen him in a film. But he beat down the big boys, and stole the show. He was god damn funny from beginning to end. He plays the dumb guy who wants to do right perfectly. Tatum and Hill together should not have worked on paper, but holy crap they were perfect together. Really awesome tandem. Also, a fantastic, yet brief cameo from Johnny Depp. I won't say where in the movie he comes in, or in what regard...but it was awesome!

This movie is all about being funny, and it did it's job brilliantly. One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Two solid lead performances, and a sea of awesome supporting roles (including James Franco's kid brother Dave Franco) and some great cameos. The story was surprisingly well told and had some sweet elements to it about friendship and loyalty. As long as you can handle some risque humor, and the occasional (or every 2 minute F bomb), then you might enjoy 21 Jump Street. Very good, very hilarious flick!