They deal with it right up front, the often annoying and unsatisfying manner in which Hollywood recycled old material (via remakes, TV adaptations or videogame-inspired films) and try to pass it off as something new. One of the most thoroughly entertaining surprises of the year so far is the way in which the makers of 21 JUMP STREET feels fresh by simply throwing out the formula of the TV show that launched the career of Johnny Depp in the late 1980s and turning it into the story of a high school outcast who gets a second chance at being cool and popular.
The film opens with an encounter between a teenaged Schmidt (Jonah Hill, who also has a story credit with screenwriter Michael Bacall and is executive producer on the film) and Jenko (Channing Tatum, also an exec producer). The shy Schmidt attempts to ask a pretty girl to prom, and she flatly rejects him much to the amusement of Jenko. The two aren't friends, but it's clear that Schmidt is extremely smart, while Jenko is popular but dumb. And there are moments where they wish they could switch places, as when Jenko doesn't get the grades he needs to even go to prom. Jump forward several years, when both men are in the police academy of their unnamed city. Schmidt can pass all the tests but he needs help with the physical training; Jenko is an ace at the training but continues to fail the exams. "Wanna be friends?" The problem is solved, and the two get each other through the academy and become best friends and partners.
After a botched arrest (because Jenko is too dumb to memorize the Miranda rights), their chief (a fun cameo by Nick Offerman) bumps them over to the Jump Street unit, a group of young-looking officers who pose as high school students to stop crimes like drug dealing. Schmidt and Jenko pose as brothers and receive instructions from their unit captain (Ice Cube, perfectly epitomizing every angry black captain role in every film ever) to find the supplier in the school, which will lead to the dealers. But something interesting happens when the boys go back to school. Times have changed; nerds are popular and people who don't try are looked down upon, no matter how good they are at a sport. Suddenly, Schmidt is popular and Jenko is the one struggling to make friends.
As much as 21 JUMP STREET keeps its plot about cops attempting to bust up a drug ring selling a new drug that has killed a student, the reason it succeeds is because of the second-chance element. Both men are forced to face the things in high school that scared them the most. At one point, Schmidt has a chance to ask a girl he likes (Brie Larson) to prom, and there's real doubt whether he'll even be able to get the words out. While Jenko must actually work to get good grades and not be made fun of for being a big dummy. There's a sweet undercurrent to the movie that Hill and Tatum really play up amidst the car chases, explosions, partying and multiple forms of violence.
The film's directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, and executive producers of "Clone High") do a great job of just letting the comedy flow from the situations rather than try to wedge in joke after joke. While we expect Hill to make the humor look easy, Tatum is the one who has some of the best lines, and he's surprisingly funny and adept at improvisation. Almost stealing the show is Dave Franco (brother of James) who has a genuine charm and casual sense of humor that I loved. Also on hand as the high school gym coach and all-around tool around school is Rob Riggle, who has a couple of really funny encounters with the "brothers." In a sequence in which he's heckling a school play, Riggle gives us a prime example of why he is so capable of playing the king of the douche bags.
Peppered throughout the film are a few great supporting performances, including Jake Johnson as the school's principal, who seems deficient in the ways of actually stopping anything bad from happening, and Ellie Kemper as Jenko's chemistry teacher, who seems to be the only female in the school who realizes and reacts to how good looking he is; you can almost see the angel and devil on her shoulders when she looks at Tatum. On top of the funny acting, there's actually a couple of worthy action sequences, some rather bloody shoot-outs, and one or two surprises for fans of the original show. 21 JUMP STREET is the funniest game in town right now, but it's also a solid cop movie, buddy picture, and coming-of-age story (a little late in life, perhaps, but whatever).
I want Hill and Tatum to become the next big comedy team in a series of films (not necessarily a sequel, however); the two clearly have an affinity for what the other brings to the table in a way that Hill never had surrounding himself with like-minded comic actors like Seth Rogen or Jason Segel. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the movies he made with those guys, but this is something wholly different and substantive, while never forgetting to be ridiculous and outrageous. The bar has been set early and high for R-rated comedies with 21 JUMP STREET.
