Review: 21 Jump Street (2012)

By Aaron Jankowski

I have been guilty of trashing on Hollywood for recycling the same old story over and over, and have ragged on remakes and reboots.

But sometimes these reboots just click, and 21 Jump Street is one of those films.

Perhaps it is because I have never seen the show the film is based off of that I enjoyed it so much, or maybe it’s because it doesn’t matter if the story has been done before, as long as it is funny.

In case you are unaware of the story, 21 Jump Street, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, follows Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) as they graduate from police academy, flounder as bicycle cops and finally come into their own in a re-established undercover operation to bust a high school drug operation.

When we first meet Schmidt and Jenko, they are in high school, and are polar opposites. Schmidt is smart, and Jenko is a jock, so obviously they don’t get along. But once they meet up again in the police academy, they realize they can help each other get over their deficits and become best friends as they enter a life of “being total bad asses.”

After graduating from the academy, they are positioned as bicycle cops. This is a short sweet outing that has a lot of humour based on how bored they are.

When they mess up an arrest because Schmidt is out of shape and Jenko does not know the Miranda rights, their chief, Nick Offerman, who has had enough, ships them off to an undercover operation based out of a church on Jump Street.

When Offerman is explaining the operation to Schmidt and Jenko, he says it is a rehashed project because no one in charge is creative anymore so they just repackage old ideas and hope no one notices. The brute honesty and acceptance of what the directors are doing here was a breath of fresh air. It let me know this film does not take itself serious.

There are numerous other occasions where this laid back attitude is displayed, and each time, it brings laughs.

As one might expect, Jonah Hill carries a lot of the comedic weight, but Channing Tatum was terrific as well. Maybe he was so good because I didn’t expect much from him? But nonetheless, he was terrific, providing more laugh out loud moments then Hill, even.

The two played off of each other so well, I would be disappointed to not see them in a film together again.

The plot has some creepiness to it, in the form of a love interest forming between Schmidt and a girl at the high school. The writers force a line into her dialogue that states she is 18, which legitimizes it a little bit, but it is still a little weird, and not at all addressed.

The supporting cast does a great job at providing laughs, especially Rob Riggle as the gym teacher and Ice Cube as their angry Captain (Yes, this cliché is addressed as well.)

Dave Franco is excellent as Eric Molson, the main distributor for the drug supplier Schmidt and Jenko are there to find.

The film drags a bit in the second half when, like most comedies feel obligated to do, the characters start to learn lessons and the jokes are replaced with tid bits of drama. However, these parts are not heavy enough to anchor down the high flying action and comedy of 21 Jump Street.

SCORE:                 7/10

ACTING:               8/10

EFFECTS/VISUAL:             6/10

WRITING:            8/10

DIRECTING:        7/10

OVERALL:            36/50

TAKE AWAY THOUGHT: It is a wonderful thing when you enter a theatre not knowing what to expect and you end up spending the next two hours of your life laughing and smiling. I will be purchasing 21 Jump Street on DVD for sure.