Lets be honest, the prospects for 21 Jump Street as a film do not look good on paper. Based on a late 80s American TV Show, which didn't really take off this side of the pond, it stars Jonah Hill, who seemed to have lost his comedic edge along with the many pounds of weight he dropped (The Sitter anyone?) and Channing Tatum, who is more at home in soppy lovefests like Dear John and The Vow.
Though it would be a little cruel to say the film is far funnier than it deserves to be, it is a welcome surprise to find that 21 Jump Street is a very entertaining, wild but nostalgic comedy ride.
The plot, which is loose and slightly superfluous, sees former high school classmates ‘nerd’ Morton Schimdt (Jonah Hill) and ‘dumb jock’ Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) become friends when they both enrol in police academy and help each other with their shortfalls to graduate, Schimdt helping Jenko with his studies and Jenko motivating Schimdt with the physical side of the force. However they are assigned to the demeaning role of park patrol and bundle their first crucial arrest, due to not reading the criminal his Miranda rights, a running joke that continues in the film. They are assigned to a ‘revived’ programme from the 80s where police officers are sent undercover in high schools to crack crime; this is a nod to the original TV Series and also sets up a nifty in-joke that may be lost on some of the younger audience not familiar with the origins of the film.
Schimdt and Jenko are sent back to school posing as teenagers to infiltrate the supply and production of a new unstable synthetic drug being used by the students, however their identities are accidentally switched with Schimdt having to pretend to be the popular track star and Jenko becoming the science nerd. This effective plot device sets up many of the comedic moments of the film but the turn of the table personas also fractures the friend’s relationship. Schimdt relishes the chance to be part of the in crowd when he is befriended by the ringleader/school drug dealer Eric (Dave Franco, sounding exactly like his brother, but looking a bit more rat faced) whilst Jenko struggles with no longer being the ‘Prom King’, being shunned by Schimdt and the hipsters and with having to wear a chemistry themed hoodie.
One of the many surprises of 21 Jump Street is the chaotic nature of the comedy, in many high school based movies the jokes follow a familiar pattern but in this script they literally throw everything and anything at the screen and see what sticks, of course some of the jokes fall short of the mark but with such a frenetic pace the gag rate is very high and somewhat random too. In one particular scene when Schimdt and Jenko have to take a sample of the teen drug, as a sign of trust to dealer Eric, they experience the effects of the stimulant, resulting in physical comedy but also psychedelic, leftfield imagery taking the sequence to another level. The other surprise, nay revelation, is Channing Tatum, the actor who is the teenage girl’s pinup of choice, usually street-dances off his good looks and frequent resilience to wear a shirt, but this time gets a long overdue chance to flex his comedic muscles. Tatum impresses as he manages to be dim but likeable, handsome but sensitive and nerdy but cool all in one. Hill meanwhile uses his well worn routine of awkward man child but in this film is used to good effect. There are quirks to the script that also give the film an offbeat charm, Dave Franco’s cool kid Eric is not a token bad boy but an earth loving preacher and the film manages to instil a feeling of school nostalgia, making you want to part of self righteous Eric’s gang, the peer pressure of popularity rears its every present head.
The films climax at the school prom is inevitable but satisfying, with a third act cameo that will get giggles on one level but deeper laughs on another level and whilst the movie ends naturally, you can’t help but feel for once, a sequel may be welcome. Spending time in the company of a couple of Bromantic losers has never been such fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment