REVIEW: 21 Jump Street

There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.


THE GOOD: Funny. Those familiar with the original TV show should not expect 21 Jump Street to be anything like the series. What story writers Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill have done here is used the basic concept of the show and use that as an instrument for humor. We've seen it done plenty of times with classic shows like The Brady Bunch, Land of the Lost, and Bewitched. This would have been a miserable failure had the movie not been funny like those films, but thankfully it's a laugh-out-loud riot. 21 Jump Street is like Superbad, but with undercover cops. Plain and simple. But the jokes are fresh and the timing is perfect. There are even some breaking down the fourth wall moments that I won't get into. The entire theatre was roaring with laughter. I haven't laughed this hard in a movie since Bridesmaids.

C-Tates and Jonah Hill watch the trailer for The Vow.

Michael Bacall. Michael Bacall adapted the story with actor Jonah Hill, but Bacall penned the screenplay by himself. The former actor is really finding a place for himself as a scribe since he also co-wrote Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, my favorite movie of 2010, and Project X, which is expected to do well. Since Project X will be released before 21 Jump Street in March, that will mean Bacall will have two hit films come out in the same month. Pretty impressive if you ask me.


THE BAD: Unoriginal. Unfortunately 21 Jump Street falls into the same exact formula that all other buddy cop movies get into. Two unlikely cops join forces, work well together, then have a dispute and split up, then... well, you know the rest. I would love to see something inventive here, but I don't think that has happened yet.

Swearing. Too much of it. No one I know swears that much.

Most of the special effects budget was used to make Jonah Hill look skinnier in the film.

Special effects. There are actually quite a few scenes in the movie where special effects are deployed and I have to say that I've seen better at this level. I understand that the movie probably didn't have the type of budget that Transformers had, but it was a distraction.


THE END: I didn't expect much going into the advanced screening of 21 Jump Street. I knew very little about the show and the trailers looked stupid. What I found was a laugh-out-loud raunchy comedy that uses the undercover cops in high school thing as a plot vehicle. Fans of the original TV series can expect a creative cameo, but not many more similarities. If you liked Superbad or Bridesmaids, I suggest checking this one out when it comes out on March 16th.


DISCUSS: What did you think of 21 Jump Street? Were you a fan of the show? What did you think of the cameo? Would you recommend this film?

CHANNING TATUM: "You see, Captain, these are all the people I had to beat in breakdance fighting to get this role."