21 Jump Street

I watched it when it first came out and remembered liking it, but it was time to give it a re-watch to see if it's still holding up. And it really does! I am pretty tired of Hollywood trying to make money by reviving old franchises (which this movie pokes fun at in some parts actually) but this was a well done example of that. Sure, it's still more entertainment than believable story/plot but the funny writing and great delivery by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are good enough to make you forget about it for.1h45. Just turn your brain off and grab your favorite drink and just enjoy the shot, you'll have a good time!

Many of the jokes are pushed too far and the plot just gets way too silly in places, but the strong comedic skills of Channing Tatum and particularly Jonah Hill help make this a fairly enjoyable experience.

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are a couple of underperforming cops. Their Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) sends them back to high school to go undercover as students to crack a drug ring.

This is an re-imagining of the 80s TV show. Unlike many others who try to remake 80s show, this one is actually funny, and joyous. They have great chemistry, and are hilarious together. Surprisingly, Channing Tatum does have some comedic chops. His timing is quite good. Jonah Hill is a great partner. Ice Cube does an intimidating Captain without losing likability. In fact, I think everybody is having a good fun time, and I think it shows.

So if you like Jonah Hill and comedies with really great cameo appearances, I think you would definitely like this film.

I must admit I expected this to be at the same standard as maybe The Change-Up or The Hangover Part II which weren't terrible movies, but they weren't the funniest movies I have seen either. This movie is more on par with The Hangover (the first installment), Superbad and Anchorman.

The chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is brilliant, and it's nice to see Tatum in something other than his standard rom-com or "rom" setting. I was already laughing from the first scene, which is generally hard to do and the humour was the correct balance of wit and slapstick. There were actually a lot more clever jokes than I expected and there were some scenes were I couldn't even control my laughter in a full cinema.

All in all, I'm not saying this movie is for everyone but the way I would tell you to see it is if you like Jonah Hill's ridiculous dialogue with sometimes unnecessary swears and you have no expectations of it being anything like the original TV show, I would definitely recommend this one! Best comedy film I've seen at the cinema in 2012.

Precursor: I just moved back into town two days ago and had made plans to see one of my old friends tonight. I did not want to see this movie, and wouldn't have under any other circumstances but my friend really wanted to and the tickets were free so I went.

Review itself: This is of no disrespect to Jonah Hill, his fashion of humor or his fans at all, but I, personally have grown tired of what seems to now be a plethora of wanna be Hangover and Superbad's. (The success of Project X seriously worries me...). Anyways, having that mind set approaching tonight and considering the fact I didn't laugh once during the 21 JS trailer, green or red band... I really wasn't expecting all that much out of the experience aside from leaving the house and catching up with a buddy.

But damn.

I honestly thought this movie was great. Yes, there were parts I wasn't fond of... a bit of the dialogue seemed to me to be vulgar strictly for the sake of being vulgar... there was the usual expected Jonah Hill trademarked myriad of penis jokes and one extremely unnecessary shock gag but the majority of the movie was, to me, surprisingly satirical/smart/relevant in today's society, self-aware, and situationally hilarious. Even the dumbest and most profane of this movie's jokes and clichés seemed to know that they were such and were given the proper comedic build up/context to at least warrant a chuckle. This movie had some surprisingly clever dialogue throughout and some of the best supporting characters I've seen in recent comedies (Ice Cube, The Principal, etc..) What really stood out to me though was the editing. 21 Jump Street features some of the most awkwardly humorous camera shot transitions, scene changes and music integration. Despite it's faults, I found this to be a damn hard movie to hate, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun weekend movie.

All in all... genuine, clever, vulgar yet respectable comedy with some heart.

IMO a very good career move for both Hill and Tatum.

Stoked for the sequel.