High school is a time that someone would either jump at the chance to live through once again or place aside without further contemplation. It's a society filled with boundless opportunities that will help shape the person you will become. It's a four-year period of living in the moment and embracing your youth. But every high school class has its own defining differences, and those distinctions become more eye-opening as years go by.
This is what Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) quickly realize in the high school comedy-cop comedy hybrid 21 Jump Street, which is based on the 1987 television series of the same name. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, it's a modernization of the show that satirically pairs the perspectives of how much high school has changed since the show's original airing and of how much it has changed from how the film's two inept heroes remember it.
In 2005, Schmidt was never the popular student in high school, and he can't seem to ask a girl out to the prom without stammering. Jenko was the thick-headed jock that didn't dismiss a chance to humiliate him. Now, they are both older and are enrolled in the same police academy, where they become friends as Jenko offers to make Schmidt more physically fit, and Schmidt offers to help Jenko pass his police exams. Once they graduate, the police life isn't at all what they had hoped. They are stuck riding police bikes as they patrol a park. When an attempted arrest goes wrong, the two are sent to a covert division on 21 Jump Street, which sends young cops who, because of their youthful appearances, are sent into high schools to take down crime. Schmidt and Jenko are sent back to their old high school with the orders to investigate a new synthetic drug that is being circulated. They are told to make friends with the dealers and identify the suppliers. But with high school being different since they experienced it, there are some challenges and dangers brewing.
The pairing of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is a confirmation that the opposites-attract dynamic of buddy movies is still very vivacious in this brains-and-brawn duo. When you first see the two together in high school, their places in the high school social order are so far apart from each other, that it's hilariously bewildering when you think that their characters will end up as a pair of crime-fighters. The opening scene shows the two as high school students. We see Jonah Hill walk through the hall as an Eminem-wannabe with bleached blonde hair and braces, while the rapper's "The Real Slim Shaddy" plays in the background. He fully encapsulates the spirit of an awkward teenager.
As for Hill's dimwitted, law-enforcing other half, Tatum brings one of the biggest surprises of the film as he establishes that he has a capability for comedic deliverance. Everything from his I-don't-get-it facial expressions and his quotable dialogue, such as the way he pronounces the "AP" in "AP Chemistry" as "app," bring huge laughs to his comically dense character.
Hill's and Tatum's roles aren't just limited to this. Before they infiltrate the school, they are given undercover names and class schedules. Schmidt is supposed to blend in with the nerds in his AP classes and Jenko is supposed to get in with the popular crowd. When Jenko accidentally mixes up their identities, they are forced to go into the opposite groups. This offers a role-reversal for the two of them, and they are able to go through what the other experienced in high school. This gives room for their characters to become more developed as their mission continues.
The film has its amusing squad of supporting characters that occupies the school and police department. It includes Chris Parnell as a peculiar drama teacher, Rob Riggle as an immature gym instructor, a dainty Ellie Kemper who can't seem to keep her hands or mind off of Channing Tatum, and Dave Franco as a drug-dealing and eco-friendly student. Ice Cube is a scene-stealer as the loud, in-your-face captain of the 21 Jump Street crew who has the attitude of a hard-nosed drill sergeant and hilariously advises his young cops to embrace their stereotypes. There are also a few surprising cameos from the television show's original cast.
Michael Bacall's screenplay and Phil Lord and Chris Miller's direction are an exuberant mix of the high school and action film subgenres. For the scenes in the school, one of the best is when Schmidt and Jenko are on the first day of their new assignment. They begin to walk across the parking lot and make several observations comparing the appearances of the students and how they present themselves. What they witness is so different from what they lived through that it's close to a culture shock for them. There is also a memorable drug-induced sequence where the two friends take the mysterious drug themselves and undergo its various effects. We see their weird hallucinations and the ruckus they cause to a band room and a track meet.
21 Jump Street has a blazingly fun dose of action, especially for a comedy. There is a car/motorcycle chase with a menacing biker gang, and there's a little bit of grand theft auto involved. Also, on a prom night unlike any other, there is a showdown in a hotel suite and a three-limo chase, both of which come out with bullets flying.
Underneath all of the excitement is a story about two individuals who use not only their common crime-fighting to take down illegal activity in the high school setting, but also use it as a second chance to accomplish what they never did back when they were in school together the first time around. It does get a tad sappy at times when Schmidt and Jenko begin to realize the friendship that is forming between them, but it doesn't become overbearing. The story regards how Schmidt and Jenko relive high school from two new perspectives: one from the aspect of the difference in the high school cultures between the two main characters and the other students, and another from Schmidt and Jenko being placed in different cliques than they were once used to. As a trip back to high school for the audience, 21 Jump Street is a wild homecoming.
Final grade: A-
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I have to say I was a bit weary about a remake of 21 Jump Street. Especially one that turned the original TV show from a drama to a comedy. But after reading your review of it, it seems to me that the movie is worth seeing.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the attention to detail and all the time you spent on this review. I really felt that you covered all of your bases and presented an informed review that gives a reader a sense of what is going on. You spent the time to comment on the screenplay and how it worked within the different types of genres, the actors and their characters, other minor characters, and how the two main actors and their characters worked together. These different sections helped me immensely with understanding the film and how in what ways it is a good movie.
Overall you really have an eye for what makes a film good and I think you have a real talent as a critic. The only thing about your review that I felt was lacking was how you neglected to mention that this film was Jonah Hill’s creation and he was one of the storywriters and an executive producer. An interesting question to ask then is if his involvement in the film as an actor, producer, and writer might have possibly influenced and controlled greatly the direction of the film. It would be interesting to consider if maybe Hill had not been so involved if the movie would still have been a comedy?
It is a good thing that Hill was involved though, because based on your review it seems as though the original show translated very nicely into a comedy and at the end of the day, a good film is always appreciated.
I enjoyed your review, Vinnie. I have to say that I never watched 21 Jump Street on television, so any differences between the show and the movie will escape my notice. That being said, I’m always intrigued when the adaptation process between a TV show-to-film and book-to-film takes place, because the fan reaction is always so polarized. With this screen adaptation of 21 Jump Street and Tim Burton’s upcoming version of Dark Shadows, there seems to be new ground for people to take sides on. Like 21 Jump Street, the new Dark Shadows is shedding its dramatic roots for a more comedic, albeit still dark, feel. Normally, I’m opposed to the idea of tampering with the original formula, but putting my biases aside, I can honestly say that perhaps the change of genres for these shows is a necessary evolution. If Hollywood has truly run out of ideas, then the natural course of action is for it to move toward the reimagining of old ideas; 21 Jump Street is no different. I’m sure that the writer toyed with the idea of remaining true to the source as much as he considered diverging from it, but the fact that he or she chose to change the genre to comedy reflects how Hollywood views its target demographic, which is a mixture of the fans from the show as well as young teens, many of whom weren’t even born when the show was running. How do you feel about the shifting of genres? Is it necessary for Hollywood’s survival? Or is it detrimental to creativity in general?
ReplyDelete@Hailey: I'm glad you enjoyed the review! You should see this movie as soon as you can. It's hysterical! You're definitely right about researching Jonah Hill's influence on making the film a comedy instead of a drama like the television show was. I think he did have an influence on the direction the film took. Since he's mainly a comedic actor, it makes sense that he would want to take this film down the path it took.
ReplyDelete@Billy: I'm glad you enjoyed the review! I never watched the original show as well. Before seeing the film, all I knew about the original show was the premise, that it was a drama and that it starred Johnny Depp. I think the reason why the filmmakers felt they could diverge from the dramatic element of the show was because they figured that much of the film's audience would be comprised of viewers that never watched the show. Although I feel that originality is needed for Hollywood's survival, I think shifting genres for certain stories can provide the opportunity to create new narratives.
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