MOVIE OF THE WEEK (3/16/12): 21 JUMP STREET
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube and DeRay Davis
WRITER(S): Michael Bacall (screenplay); Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill (story) – based on the original television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell
DIRECTOR: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
THE PLOT: Inspired in concept (but certainly not in practice) by the late 80s/early 90s teen drama of the same name, 21 Jump Street stars Jonah Hill as Schmidt, a high school nerd-turned-police officer in training. It is at the police academy (no, not THAT one!) that Schmidt meets up with Jenko (Channing Tatum), his former high school nemesis who is also trying to now become a cop, too. While Jenko is good at all of the physical tests, Schmidt excels at the actual tests that require more mental than physical stamina.
Unfortunately, once Schmidt and Jenko are put out into the actual field, their collective work leaves a little bit to be desired. That's when they get re-assigned by Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) to report to a church down on Jump Street to become part of a program under the eye of the stern Captain Dickson (Ice Cube). And what exactly will they do as part of the program? Go back to high school undercover as students to discover the source of a new drug called "HFS" (it'll make sense once you see the movie), infiltrate the dealers and shut it down at the source.
Unfortunately for Schmidt and Jenko, high school is not quite how the remember it. For the kids are a lot different now: The cool kids, led by Eric (Dave Franco) are now environmentally/socially conscious, the jocks do not have preferred status and the nerds, well, they're still the nerds. And while students like Molly (Brie Larson) are a nice distraction for Schmidt, he and Jenko have a job to do ...
But much like many a high school student before them, it's going to be a lot harder than either of them ever dreamed it was going to be the second time around.
Unfortunately, once Schmidt and Jenko are put out into the actual field, their collective work leaves a little bit to be desired. That's when they get re-assigned by Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) to report to a church down on Jump Street to become part of a program under the eye of the stern Captain Dickson (Ice Cube). And what exactly will they do as part of the program? Go back to high school undercover as students to discover the source of a new drug called "HFS" (it'll make sense once you see the movie), infiltrate the dealers and shut it down at the source.
Unfortunately for Schmidt and Jenko, high school is not quite how the remember it. For the kids are a lot different now: The cool kids, led by Eric (Dave Franco) are now environmentally/socially conscious, the jocks do not have preferred status and the nerds, well, they're still the nerds. And while students like Molly (Brie Larson) are a nice distraction for Schmidt, he and Jenko have a job to do ...
But much like many a high school student before them, it's going to be a lot harder than either of them ever dreamed it was going to be the second time around.
THE TAKE: Now, if you are under the age of 30, there is a very good chance you have no idea – or at least not until recently – that 21 Jump Street was originally a TV series that ran on a then-fledging network known as Fox from 1987-1991. The series is best remembered for breathing life into Johnny Depp's career following his brief yet highly memorable star turn in the original A Nightmare On Elm Street (yes, the recent one starring Jackie Earle Haley was a remake, too!) ... And for a short-lived spin-off series, Booker, starring Richard Grieco. (It lasted one season. Other than serving as the makings for a great sketch on the equally short-lived Ben Stiller Show, that's pretty much all anyone has to say about it.)
I mention all that to simply say this: Whereas it seems that Hollywood has a seemingly endless stream of ideas – and by ideas, I mean ideas about taking a bunch of old TV shows/movies and re-doing them – every once in a blue moon, they get one right. And for every one that seems to work (Hawaii 5-0, for example), there are scores of others (Charlie's Angels and Fright Night last year, perhaps the upcoming Battleship movie, etc.) that don't.
Well, guess what? Not only does 21 Jump Street work, it works extremely well.
In case you didn't know, whereas the originally Jump Street was a drama, this one is an action comedy. And instead of going for corny or easy humor (most of the time), the movie delivers genuine laughs via a self-awareness among its characters and in the script. As opposed to acting as if its ridiculous moments are perfectly normal, Jump Street lets you know its in on the joke and in turn, exploits it to great effect. The film acknowledges how times have changed since its characters were in school (and in turn, when the original series aired) to its advantage.
The film wouldn't work as well as it does, however, without great performances on the part of its cast, not just so much in the form of proven comedic performer Hill (who helped re-write the script), but – wait for it – the stellar performance of Tatum. Tatum, who recently took the stage at Saturday Night Live to showcase his comedic talents, shows that he really can be more than a pretty face with a penchant for being shirtless in the movie, which is his best performance to date. The emotions emitted here are more readily identifiable for the audience than in nearly if not all of his romance drama efforts, his timing is sharp and his presence is defined in each scene.
The rest of the cast offers equal contributions to the film's success, whether it be in the form of James Franco's little brother giving his character a unique quality to good comedic effect, Rob Riggle playing a, well, dumb teacher with absolutely no shame or Ice Cube being a bombastic police captain who knows he is and makes no apologies for being that way. The film doesn't attempt to re-invent the buddy cop/fish-out-of-water genre; it simply takes the staples of the genre, remixes them a little and remembers that it's there to make people laugh. Throw in some unexpected surprises/clever twists (no spoilers here!) and you end up with a great, ribald movie with dare I say a nice touch of heart.
I mention all that to simply say this: Whereas it seems that Hollywood has a seemingly endless stream of ideas – and by ideas, I mean ideas about taking a bunch of old TV shows/movies and re-doing them – every once in a blue moon, they get one right. And for every one that seems to work (Hawaii 5-0, for example), there are scores of others (Charlie's Angels and Fright Night last year, perhaps the upcoming Battleship movie, etc.) that don't.
Well, guess what? Not only does 21 Jump Street work, it works extremely well.
In case you didn't know, whereas the originally Jump Street was a drama, this one is an action comedy. And instead of going for corny or easy humor (most of the time), the movie delivers genuine laughs via a self-awareness among its characters and in the script. As opposed to acting as if its ridiculous moments are perfectly normal, Jump Street lets you know its in on the joke and in turn, exploits it to great effect. The film acknowledges how times have changed since its characters were in school (and in turn, when the original series aired) to its advantage.
The film wouldn't work as well as it does, however, without great performances on the part of its cast, not just so much in the form of proven comedic performer Hill (who helped re-write the script), but – wait for it – the stellar performance of Tatum. Tatum, who recently took the stage at Saturday Night Live to showcase his comedic talents, shows that he really can be more than a pretty face with a penchant for being shirtless in the movie, which is his best performance to date. The emotions emitted here are more readily identifiable for the audience than in nearly if not all of his romance drama efforts, his timing is sharp and his presence is defined in each scene.
The rest of the cast offers equal contributions to the film's success, whether it be in the form of James Franco's little brother giving his character a unique quality to good comedic effect, Rob Riggle playing a, well, dumb teacher with absolutely no shame or Ice Cube being a bombastic police captain who knows he is and makes no apologies for being that way. The film doesn't attempt to re-invent the buddy cop/fish-out-of-water genre; it simply takes the staples of the genre, remixes them a little and remembers that it's there to make people laugh. Throw in some unexpected surprises/clever twists (no spoilers here!) and you end up with a great, ribald movie with dare I say a nice touch of heart.
PARTING SHOT: A film that will tickle your funny bone from start to finish, 21 Jump Street is the first great comedy of 2012. It would be a crime to miss it.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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