Sunday, July 1, 2012

21 JUMP STREET: FORGET THE PAST...KIND OF


Back in the 80s there was a TV series that helped kick off the new network known as FOX. It starred a bunch of new actors just getting noticed and featured them as policemen who went undercover in high school to fight crime among the younger generation. Among these actors was a guy named Johnny Depp who you may have heard of. Depp eventually left and the show finally finished but has developed a cult following. Enough of one that they apparently decided a remake in feature length format was warranted. But don't go in thinking this is the same old 21 JUMP STREET.

Jonah Hill plays Schmidt, the smart, nerdy kid who wants to be liked so much so that he dies his hair blonde and cuts it to look like Eminem. Jenko (Channing Tatum) is his high school nemesis, the jock that doesn't think much and picks on the nerd. For one reason or another both find themselves unable to go to prom.

Fast forward to find both of them applying to become policemen at the academy. They become friends and each uses their strengths to help the other one graduate. Thinking they'll be hitting the streets and stopping crime they're stunned to find themselves on bicycle duty. When they see a biker gang involved in a drug deal they think that will all change. It does but not the way they hoped. Having failed to read the criminals their Miranda rights, the only way to avoid being kicked out is to work in a special outfit.

The Jump Street program is headed by tough as nails Capt. Dickson (Ice Cube). It takes youthful looking police officers and places them in high schools to fight crime. In this particular incident they're trying to find the supplier of a new drug in schools that's already resulted in one teen death. Now the two cops who didn't fare well in high school are going back.

But things aren't like they were. The things that made Jenko popular are now frowned upon by the cool kids. And the nerdy things that Schmidt did are now making him popular. It gets even more twisted up when the duo get their undercover identities mixed up and Jenko is supposed to be the smart one while Schmidt is the jock! Couple that with the fact that the kids think Jenko looks much older than his "age" and you can see where this is going.

What you end up with is a bit of a twist on the Odd Couple tossed in with an attempt by two twenty somethings trying to fit in. They must also find the dealers of the drugs and then follow up to see who their supplier is. Along the way they each have the chance to walk in the other's shoes from the past and with any luck will appreciate each other more after doing so.

The movie is filled with the gross out or inappropriate humor Hill is becoming known for but not to the extent that it distracts from the story or hinders it (like happened with THE SITTER). The bonding between these two characters and the chance that it will unwind makes for an interesting film as does the chance for Schmidt to finally get the chance to have a decent high school experience. Except that he isn't a student and almost falls into the trap of getting too involved in his undercover identity.

There are plenty of laughs and a few decent action sequences. My favorite laugh involved a chase scene where things that would normally explode in any other movie don't. In addition to the story laced with humor we get some decent cameos by members of the original series including Holly Peete Robinson, Peter DeLuise and Depp himself (though you'll never recognize him until he wants you to). It's not a bad movie and one I can actually see myself watching again down the line. Entertaining and light fare, this is a movie that will give you just what you expect.

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