I had no interest in this movie whatsoever. Then, I listened to an interview with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill on the local morning show and I thought I’d give it a shot. An 88% on Rotten Tomatoes is nothing to sneeze at. I’m at the theater, comfortable (as one can be in a theater seat), with popcorn and drink in hand, ready for an okay time. I haven’t heard anything great about it despite the score and there wasn’t any buzz from anyone I knew. So I figured I’d get a chuckle here and there and probably forget about it.
The first ten minutes did nothing for me. It looked like another Jonah Hill flick with that juvenile humor and teen awkwardness that pretty much painted the walls of his older films. Then, they introduce 21 Jump Street, and I was hooked. A movie that never takes itself seriously, the rest of the film was just fun to sit and watch.
It was as if the writers felt the movie should be the punchline, while keeping you interested enough in the characters and the story. Mildly predictable with switched roles and switched personalities, the movie takes two “dumb” cops, puts them in high school, and tasks them with finding the guy supplying drugs to the local high school before it gets out to other districts. Shmidt (Jonah Hill) playing the smart, socially awkward one, and Jenko (Channing Tatum) the cool, tough, dumb one, they both fit their roles nicely, which you technically can’t screw up if you’re casting these two, and they sort of…not really…look young enough to pass as high school students. And I mean, even when I was in high school, kids looked like they were in their forties. But they’re both naturally funny and they sell the jokes flawlessly.
You then have Ice Cube in a sterotypical role, that he embraces wholeheartedly, with his tough as nails, no BS captain role. Sadly the bad guys are kind of lame (which may or may not have been intentional), but they make up so little of the movie that they’re kind of forgettable. Everyone else in the film are great, because not they’re all over the top and almost shallow, 2D versions of what they represent. Again, I believe it’s part of the humor, because they’re way too obvious. This hipsters are obvious hipsters, the nerds are extreme nerds, and well…I guess we just don’t have jocks anymore?
Finally we have the love interest. How can you have a movie like this without one woman, and despite the two female cops in their very minor roles, there are not a lot of women in this film. But luckily, the one they choose for the main female role is one I think, should be in all movies. Of course, I have a bit of a crush on her, ever since she played Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim VS The World. Brie Larson is Molly, Shmidt’s love interest. She’s adorabe/hot, a good actress, and was just a natural in this film playing a fun psycho and thensome.
I highly recommend this film. There’s subtle humor, great laughs, nice surprises and just a fun time to be had. It never once got boring, and I give this flick 9 out of 10 jumps in the street. An original take on a remake.
