21 Jump Street is an exceptional comedy that is based off of the late 80’s to early 90’s television drama of the same name. The plot is simple; two youthful appearing police officers that proved to be ineffective in the field are assigned an undercover operation at a local high school with the objective of finding the supplier(s) of a new designer drug. What makes the movie work so well is that it is anchored by up and coming starts Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The two put their past differences aside to become friends in order to pass the police academy together. This unlikely alliance works but when the two are thrust back into high school for the undercover operation, their friendship endures its toughest obstacles yet. From day one of being placed back into a high school setting, Tatum and Hill have to deal with teenage pressures and anxiety’s that they both believed they had left behind as adults. An interesting subplot that Jump Street has is that it both parodies and over exaggerates the amount of, “change,” that has taken place in the high school setting since they had graduated just 7 years earlier. The movie shows it going from the stereotypical dumb jocks and hot girls rule the school to a setting where environmental consciousness, tolerance, and the showing of intelligence is cool. While these chances are in reality happening, at a much slower rate than shown in the film, it nonetheless takes a noticeable amount of time poking fun at these changes. Hill and Tatum are the types of actors that even before you know what the movie will be about, you can basically predict the type of roll that they will play. That being said, they both do a wonderful job in their roles and they are definitely funny. 21 Jump Street ends up being a smart and semi-serious comedy with fresh jokes and well flowing dialogue. It equally entertains both the teenage and adult crowd, and that is what makes it a success.
The good: You never know what you are going to get out of a blockbuster comedy now-a-days and 21 Jump Street proves itself to be strong and hilarious from beginning to end.
The bad: Jump Street does not contain the amount of, “raunchy,” comedy that most people expect when seeing it for the first time.
Rating: 7.9 out of 10.
