22 JUMP STREET (2014 - COMEDY) **** out of ***** OR 8
out of 10
(Oh, lord.
Not these knuckleheads again...)
CAST:
Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, Wyatt Russell,
Amber Stevens, Peter Stormare, Jillian Bell.
DIRECTOR:
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
WARNING:
Some SPOILERS and more reasons to go back to school - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS:
In 2012, we witnessed the big-screen version of the 80's TV show
"21 Jump Street" which was titled, um, 21 JUMP STREET. In that saga, baby-faced doofus cops Jenko
(Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) were recruited to work for the
"Jump Street Program" which apparently involved sending baby-faced
doofus cops undercover as narcs in high schools to bust up drug rings. If you'll remember, after much hilarity and
misadventure, our two doofus heroes managed to catch the baddies spreading
through school halls a new kind of drug that, truth be told, seemed more like a
really potent fortune cookie.
Apparently, that's a bad thing.
Flash forward to 2014, and our two doofus cops
Jenko and Schmidt are once again pulled back into the fray by their
terminally-sarcastic chief, Supeintendent Hardy (Nick Offerman), and sent back
into the 21 Jump Street program. This
time, however, it turns out the office has relocated to a far-flung location:
right across the street. So what happens
when a program called 21 Jump Street moves to an address that is actually 22
Jump Street? The movie's title is
accordingly changed to... 22 JUMP STREET.
Remember what they say about real estate: "Location, location,
location..."
Anyhow, this time, out two doofi (plural for
"doofus") undercover cops find themselves with an upgraded
mission: whereas before, they were
undercover cops in high school, this time, they are going to be undercover cops
in... college. Apparently, it didn't
take long for some new drug dealer to take the place of the ones Jenko and
Schmidt busted before - and a new wonder drug is now being peddled to the
students of a local university. It's
called WHY-PHY. As in: Work Hard Yeah!
Play Hard Yeah! Look, I didn't the write
the fucking script, okay? If it were up
to me, I would call the drug "Andrew Garfield." So that way I could say things like: "I sure would love to do some Andrew
Garfield right now" or "Damn, I need to snort some Andrew Garfield
ASAP" or "Anyone got any Andrew Garfield I can blow the shit out
of?" I don't ask for much.
But I digress.
Anyhow, if you folks will recall, in 21 JUMP STREET a strange thing happened:
lunkhead jock Jenko was fully expecting to blend in with the cool kids at the
high school - but instead got sidelined with the geeks and freaks because in
the new landscape of John Hughes land, political correctness and environmental
activism is apparently the "in" thing. And let's face it: Jenko probably doesn't even know what the
words "recycle" or "sustainable" mean. As a result, it was Schmidt who unexpectedly
became Big Man On Campus because of his
own leanings towards political correctness and environmental activism. Yawn.
Happily, in 22 JUMP STREET the Universe is back
to what it should be and order has been restored. Yes, folks...
Jenko joins a fraternity and becomes BMOC and Schmidt is banished to the
Realm Of The Nerds. Thank goodness. I was starting to think we were in some place
like the twilight zone - but somehow even more fucked-up. While pledging for his frat, Jenko meets the
improbably gorgeous Zook (Wyatt Russell), whose Sun God beauty makes up for the
fact that he has one lemon of a nickname.
At least I hope its a nickname.
Anyhow, as you can imagine, two Adonis-types like Jenko and Zook who are
into body-building and not much else are probably destined for each other. Hell, even their names click: Jenko and Zook.
Tell me that doesn't make your heart
beat a little faster...
Meanwhile, our geek Schmidt falls into his
natural lane with the weirdos and bizarros of the art scene. Fortunately, one of them, Maya (Amber
Stevens), is actually somewhat hot and he scores a one-night stand with
her. Unfortunately, she is also their
immediate supervisor's daughter. If
you'll recall from 21 JUMP STREET, their boss is Capt Dickson (Ice Cube). And let's just say that he more than lives up
to his name. In other words, you couldn't
pay me to step in ol' Schmidt's shoes for all the hairy chests in Italy.
To further complicate matters, Jenko's growing
bro-mance with Zook begins to affect his friendship with Schmidt. Soon enough, our two doofi cops are walking
around, pouting like the biggest issue they have is whether they'll ever be
able to hang out again. As if, you know,
there weren't a drug problem on campus for them to solve. And them, just because you can't have enough
drama in a JUMP STREET movie, Capt Dickhead, er Dickson finds out that Schmidt
has been pile-driving his sweet Maya - and begins to rumble like Mt. Vesuvius
after centuries of not erupting. Hint:
run, Schmiddy - fast.
So, the pertinent questions: will Jenko and Schmidt be able to figure out
who's been peddling WHY-PHY all over campus?
Or will their various personal entanglements make them lose focus? Will Jenko truly choose Zook to be his next
BFF? Will Schmidt continue to wet his
wick with Maya at the expense of his life?
Will Capt Dickface, uh, Dickson unleash a vat of Whoop-Ass on
Schmidt? Who is the drug dealer on
campus, anyway? Zook? Maya? Maya's
super-bitch roommate, Mercedes (Jillian Bell)?
Richard Grieco? Johnny Depp? Who, for fuck's sake?
I know: it's Holly Robinson.
BUT SERIOUSLY:
In our review for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (review # 550) and other
sequel reviews, we've discussed how the best sequels take what worked about the
first film - and then move into new territory.
22 JUMP STREET is a fine example of that - it takes the strengths of the
first film, and uses it as a framework to explore some fresh ground. Specifically, this film has the self-aware
deconstructionist irony of the SCREAM films, which gives the comedy a
delightfully loony vibe.
The way SCREAM and its three sequels skewered the
tropes and cliches of the Slasher Movie Sub-Genre while adhering to them at the
same time, so too does 22 JUMP STREET takes what we know about the Collegiate
Comedy Sub-genre - as well as sequels and cinematic adaptations of TV shows -
and alternately follows and sends them up.
The result is a wonderfully irreverent film filled with raunchy,
infectious good cheer.
As with the first film, Channing Tatum and Jonah
Hill bring a warm, brotherly rapport to their roles of Jenko and Schmidt. 21 JUMP STREET tested their partnership, and
22 JUMP STREET does so again. This time,
however, it is done through a hilarious framework of a pseudo-gay relationship
that manages to be both ribald and respectful, at the same time. By now, Tatum and Hill have made the roles
their own, and they fully-inhabit their characters' skins while tweaking them
for laughs at the same time.
New faces include Amber Stevens and Jillian Bell
as the female leads, and both hold their own, especially Bell, who is a scream
as Mercedes, Maya's uber-sarcastic roommate who locks horns with Schmidt and
has rapid-fire zinger comebacks for every occasion. Wyatt Russell is also a loose, goofy delight
as Zook, the "third point" in the Jenko-Schmidt-Zook
"triangle." Russell is the son
of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and he bears an uncanny resemblance to his
father (but with his mom's signature blond hair). Returning castmembers include Ice Cube, Nick
Offerman, and Rob Riggle. All three hit
the mark again as they did the first time, especially Offerman as the
terminally-droll chief of Jenko and Schmidt's unit - no other comedian today
can be so side-splittingly hilarious while maintaing a stone-cold demeanor and
never cracking a single smile.
Ultimately, 22 JUMP STREET is just as great as
its predecessor. In some way, it's even
funnier - especially the final end title credits, which is worth the price of
admission in itself. Suffice it to say,
stay until the very end of this movie - you will be breathless with laughter. Now that's the way to end a comedy - on a
true high note.
