21 JUMP STREET

21 Jump Street (2012)
Grade: C+
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Ice Cube, Rob Riggle, and Ellie Kemper
PREMISE: Two young cops pose as high school students in an effort to find the supplier of a newly-circulating, high-intensity drug.

RATED R for language (including graphic sexual references), strong sexual content, crude humor, drug material, and some bloody violence

Darn. I had modest expectations for 21 Jump Street, and, for much of the running time, it flirted with the upper edge of those expectations. Crude? Yes. Kinda dumb? Yes. Predictable? Pretty much. But I laughed my head off during much of the film, an updated version of the late-80s/early-90s TV show that made one Johnny Depp famous. The characters are engaging, the stereotypes a little more watered down than in most high school-related movies, and the pace quick--it's just a shame it all went downhill late in a painfully contrived last 30 minutes.

Plot: In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) had almost nothing in common, except the fact that neither went to their senior prom. Jenko, a strapping jock, because his grades were in the toilet; Schmidt-a stuttering nerd with braces-because the girl he asked turned him down. When they happen to meet again at police academy, both need help-Jenko with exams and paperwork, and Schmidt with physical endurance-so they team up to be each other's respective coaches. After a failed attempt to bust a local drug ring, they're sent to 21 Jump Street, where the brusque Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) decides to send them undercover as high school students. Their job: find the supplier of a dangerous new drug called HFS. However, the twosome are off almost immediately--getting their fake identities mixed up, the brainy Schmidt ends up in drama and other easy electives while Jenko gets into AP Chemistry and other high-end classes. But they soon find a local drug runner (Dave Franco), and in order to get in with him and his inner circle, including the comely Molly (Brie Larson), they throw parties, act up, and even try the drugs--but as the captain's patience wears thin, their lack of progress on the case fills their relationship with tension.

What Works?
Tatum is okay in his third (already) film of 2012, but this is clearly Hill's movie. The crude humor, the insatiable chatter, the rubbery malleability, even the undeniable chemistry with Larson's Molly--Hill's in his element. Franco is effectively amusing as the "new-age popular kid", a laid-back, artistic hippie, and Ice Cube's outrageously profane and surly dialogue gets big laughs. Basically, for 21 Jump Street, what works is the most important thing-this being a comedy-the humor. Two big set pieces, including Jenko and Schmidt's experiencing the after-effects of HFS, had me rolling in my seat, and the laughs keep coming from beginning to end.

What Doesn't Work?
Being a comedy aimed at mostly teens and young adults, it certainly has its moments of irredeemable crudeness, attempts at character development are predictable and only hit halfway home, and a few of the adults on hand (Rob Riggle as an enthusiastic gym teacher; Ellie Kemper as the AP Chem teacher who takes an immediate interest in the muscular Jenko) are forced to stoop to imbecilic levels to meet the material. Then that last half hour, when 21 Jump Street drops any pretense of being serious, or at least in possession of a serious-minded plot, it dissolves into a lot of cheesy jokes, obvious plot developments, and lame sight gags. I wasn't expecting a lot from 21 Jump Street, but everything before that ending gave me hope that it was, if not particularly original, at least a movie that fully delivered on its promise of being enjoyable. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

Content:
F-words abound, as do mentions about sex and sexual gestures. There's also drug material, though it's nothing particularly graphic or offensive--as I mentioned, the scene in which Schmidt and Jenko take HFS is used to comedic effect. The only scene of violence comes at the end, but violence isn't what makes this film rated R-it's the crudeness.

Bottom Line (I promise):
A crude but engaging comedy undone by a corny and amateur-ish third act, 21 Jump Street will undoubtedly please its target audience but was close to being even better.

21 Jump Street (2012)
Based on the television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Written by Michael Bacall
Rated R
Length: 109 minutes