Co-written by star Jonah Hill, and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, two guys whose resumes have basically revolved around animation thus far, 21 Jump Street, a reincarnation, isn't a remake, but a distant continuation of the plot behind the cult television show.
In the lone scene featuring Nick Offerman (Ron F***ing Swanson), we get an amusing, tongue-in-cheek explanation of how the police force is out of new ideas, so they've decided to re-launch a program that worked years ago. An obvious jab at the fact that this movie even exists, it's nice to know from the get-go how not seriously this movie is going to take itself.
The story is basically familiar for those who know anything about the original TV series. Hill and co-star Channing Tatum play Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, two recent police academy graduates whose collective visions of what their careers would be far exceed the bicycle duty they've been given. One botched arrest later and the duo are sent packing, finding themselves relocated to 21 Jump Street.
At Jump Street, the two are sent undercover into a local high school in an attempt to corner and eliminate a new synthetic drug market that has already claimed the life of one student. Being back in high school provides its own problems for the pair: for Morton, who never fit in during his high school days, and for Greg, who remembers a different high school experience than the one he now encounters.
It's been a long time since I laughed as hard in theaters as I did during 21 Jump Street. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I've never been anything close to a Channing Tatum fan and although Hill has grown on me, I'm never all that excited to see him as a lead. But I was thoroughly surprised by how much I enjoyed both of them. The two have great chemistry on screen, and their characters/personalities play perfectly off each other.
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There is a good deal of obvious, crude humor here (which I still find funny), but there are probably just as many laughs that come from creative and more clever jokes/situations. For me, it's these more subtle and less obvious moments that make 21 Jump Street a great comedy.
The supporting cast is pretty strong across the board (save the inclusion of the entirely unfunny Rob Riggle), but their biggest contribution to the film is setting up Hill and Tatum for the big laughs. The exception is Ice Cube, whose scene-stealing head of the 21 Jump Street program is truly hilarious.
Rating: 8/11
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