If I had to sum up 21 Jump Street in one word it would be ‘hilarious’. We know how funny Jonah Hill is, but the combination of him and ladies man Channing Tatum works a real treat in this action comedy flick that was based on the hit TV show of the same name.
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The movie begins with a nerdy looking Jonah Hill as a try hard Eminem and Channing Tatum as one of the cool kids who sadly wasn’t very bright. Already the hilarity starts as Hill’s character bring a few laughs and we quickly learn that they weren’t the best of friends in high school.
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The real laughter begins though when 7 years later they both happen to sign up to be policeman and they put there differences aside to help each other, Hill with his brians and Tatum with his braun. The chemistry between the two is great and the jokes in this movie are both clever and slapstick, but probably leaning on the side of clever which is nice to see.
Anyone who has seen the trailer will know that the scene after they graduate from the police academy is hilarious and also probably true to real life. I would reccomend you don’t watch the trailer though as a lot of the good moments are in it, but there’s still heaps of great moments to be had. Without spoiling the movie too much, they are put into an undercover police team, with the aim to go back into College and find the supplier of the latest drug that’s spreading through the school. The dealer is played by Dave Franco, younger brother of James, who also does a great job. Funnily enough he has a brief scene in Superbad where Seth (Jonah Hill’s character) bags him out on the soccer field.
Tatum is hilarious in the Miranda rights scene (which is in the trailer) and both the lead actors are brilliant throughout. The typical stereotypes are purposely highlighted during the movie and Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller know exactly when is too much or too little.
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While full of comedy, the movie has a plot and it’s never forgotten even a midst the constant jokes. It’s quite an enticing story too and you find yourself wanting to know what is going to happen. There’s some brief romance and a little emotional areas occassionally, but never enough to really get to you and overall it’s definitely a feel good movie, basically all of the time.
There’s so many scenes I’ve avoided spoiling, but one of the running jokes they have during it is brilliant and definitely makes fun of a lot of action car chase scenes. I also enjoyed a particular scene around the middle of the film when the boys test out the drugs with hilarious consequences.
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If you are going to see a Comedy film this year this is the one and it’s hard to see it being topped! Also starring Ice Cube as a police Captain, Rob Riggle as a high school teacher and a special appearance from another well known celebrity at the end, they all contribute greatly to the humor of the film. Hill and Tatum are definitely the stars though, and if you don’t laugh multiple times during this movie I would be very surprised. I’m struggling to decide between A- and B+ but will go with the latter for now. A great comedy film! B+-
Such a long review, b+ feels apt, headhunters was better!
Hey great review man, really excited to see it now, seeing it tomorrow…
I’m glad to see you giving it a positive review. I’ve been looking forward to it.
Thanks guys. Was thinking this morning how much I really enjoyed it. So many good moments!
I forgot about Dave Franco’s scene in Superbad. Haha. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed it too, but thought it was very inconsistent, and I thought it started out poorly, and then hit form in the second half. I liked that it had a heart too. Made up for some of the laziness.
I think because I really wanted to like it it may have influenced me. I spent ages trying to work out where I knew Dave Franco from at the start! Cheers for your thoughts Andy.