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21 Jump Street (Movie Review)

If you are looking for a movie with non stop laughs, crude humor, and down right goofiness, 21 Jump Street is guaranteed to make you laugh. This Cinematic version of the 80’s television series with the same name is the funniest movie I have seen this year, Tatum shows us his comedic side, while Hill continues to make us laugh. They play off each other well, and make a great team! Written by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall, and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) The original series starred Johnny Depp as Officer Tom Hanson; it turned him into a teen heart throb and launched his career. The movie does not follow the original characters of the series, but it is a continuation of the Jump Street program. 

 

Those of you not familiar with the 80’s, series young police officers go under cover in schools to investigate various crimes. Those of you familiar with the series keep your eyes open for some cameo appearances from a few of the original cast members.

The movie opens in the year 2005. Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are seniors in high school. This sets up the two characters for us, the unsure intelligent nerd and the cocky unintelligent jock. Hold on to your seat this non stop laugh fest is just the beginning of the tongue and check humor that is throughout the movie.

Flash forward to the present, Schmidt and Jenko are in the police academy together. They help each other with their own weaknesses and in the process become best friends. After graduation the two are assigned to bicycle patrol, this is where they botch their first arrest. As punishment they are sent down to Jump Street. Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) gives them their first assignment to go under cover as high school students. A new synthetic drug is being sold, and their job is to infiltrate the dealers and find the supplier.

Schmidt, not having fond memories of school is hesitant to go back while Jenko who ruled school is excited to return. But school has changed since they graduated, and the roles assigned to them get mixed up so they are out of their comfort zone. The kids are not the same anymore, the sensitive, tree huggers are the cool kids now. It doesn’t take long for the undercover partners to find the school’s drug dealer; but now they need to find the supplier. Schmidt becomes close to Eric (Dave Franko) who is the main dealer, so that he can find out who is supplying the drugs. As the partners separate bonds grow with their classmates, the bond between Schmidt and Jenko starts to crumble. Schmidt hangs out with the cool “in” crowd and get sucked back into school life, a school life that he dreamed of having while he was in high school while Jenko hangs with his new over achiever friends and learns that they are cool in their own way.

Take a ride back to high school with Schmidt and Jenko; this is a movie you’re not going to want to miss. 21 Jump Street doesn’t have a great plot but it is a fun movie, and it seems like that was the writer’s intention. Hill and Tatum and the supporting cast keep the laughs coming, which makes this comedy a laugh out loud hit.