By: debbie lynn elias
Looking for laughter this weekend? Then jump on over to 21 JUMP STREET. This is The Funniest Film Of The Year! A devotee of the original “21 Jump Street” tv series that catapulted Johnny Depp into stardom, I never envisioned a translation of the series to the big screen, let alone a big screen comedy. Didn’t think it even possible, if it was to be done successfully and respectful to the tv series. Not only is it possible, but 21 JUMP STREET is the most raucous, rowdy, riotous, raunchy and ridiculously funny film of the year. I belly-laughed and guffawed from beginning to end. And the kicker of it all? 21 JUMP STREET is also filled with heart and camaraderie, not to mention references to everything pop culture has to offer for the past 30 years. And oh yeah…..it has the best cameo performances ever seen on film!!
One of the most unlikely, but inspired pairings, to hit the silver screen, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are Schmidt and Jenko, respectively. High school seniors in 2005, each has his own angst to deal with. For Schmidt, it’s his Eminem-influenced style meshed with braces, klutziness and honor roll nerdiness. As for Jenko, he is the epitome of a Ken doll. Tall, handsome, athletic, chick magnet, but a cocky, ignorant, jackass.
Fast forward to 2012 and our boys are struggling in life. Schmidt is still living at home with his parents, trying to fit in and find a career. Jenko has learned that you need some brains to go with the brawn. Not seeing each other since high school, imagine their surprise when they reconnect at training for the Metro City Police Department.
Ultimately making it through the Academy and graduating (barely), Schmidt and Jenko are partnered and put on a beat – a bicycle beat in the park, near ponds, with children and senior citizens. Wanting some excitement and anxious to make an arrest, hilarity ensues when they see a gang of bikers smoking pot. Needless to say, they botch the arrest (Jenko never learned the Miranda) and are kicked over to Jump Street. Designed for high school undercover work, long-dormant Jump Street has been reactivated thanks to a fresh break-out of teen trouble and a new hallucinogenic drug on the market.
Helmed by the foul-mouthed, fast-talking Captain Dickson, our boys are assigned to pose as brothers Doug and Brad, and return to high school, a prospect that frightens Schmidt and elates Jenko. Their assignment – infiltrate the drug operation first though the dealer and then get the distributor before it goes viral and canft be contained within the one school. And there’s a caveat – Under no circumstances are they to do anything to get expelled. With 30 days left in the semester, the clock is ticking which means the boys have got to get a jump on things – and fast. But their first problem, how do you fit in now when you didn’t fit in before?
Surprisingly, the boys easily manage to hook up with the kids at school, albeit after screwing up their own undercover identities thus making Jenko the alleged genius Brad and Schmidt the super jock Doug. So with Jenko/Brad facing AP chemistry (when he doesnft know what “AP” is) and Schmidt/Doug suddenly finding himself in the Drama Club auditioning for the lead in Peter Pan, the potential for hilarity increases one hundred fold – and hilarity is what we get – especially when Schmidt gets a tip on access to the sought-after drugs from Molly, an adorable OCDC over-achiever who just happens to be playing Wendy in Peter Pan. Sweet Molly? Drugs? Couldn’t be.
Running from his tanking audition, Schmidt and Jenko meet up with the dealer, Eric. Intelligent, athletic, sensitive to politics and the environment, and sometimes dating Molly, Eric is not who the boys envisioned as a dealer. My how times have changed! Forcing the boys to actually take the HFS (small little colored wafers that resemble communion wafers or 100 calorie Oreos that cost $20 a pop and I’ll let you figure out what HFS means) in order to prove they aren’t cops, you have to see it to believe it with what happens next. Racing to the bathroom – and the same stall – in order to throw up the HFS, it is one comical maneuver after another as they attempt to save each other from the hallucinogenic effects of HFS. The result is comic gold.
Now experiencing the full effects of the HFS in all its glory, the boys go from class to class amazing and shocking teachers and students alike, but in the process, endearing and ensconcing themselves as rock star high school students. The higher Schmidt and Jenko get, the higher the audience gets…with laughter. And the more trusting their classmates are of them. But for all the ensuing hijinks, will that be enough to help lead to Schmidt and Jenko to their target – the distributor/manufacturer of HFS?
As I said, this is inspired casting, particularly with Channing Tatum. We expect adroit comedic performance from Hill, but Tatum? As Jenko, he soars with exuberance and effervescence! No longer the BMOC, Tatum does an emotional 360, emerging as more than a force to be reckoned with on the comedic front as he goes toe-to-toe and in some ways, surpasses the brilliance of Hill’s performance. They are perfect foils to one another, with each bringing out the best in the other. The result is one of the most satisfying and hilarious pairings since Matthau and Lemmon, Hope and Crosby and even, Gibson and Glover. And the brotherly love that each character has for the other just embodies the very best of a “buddy/bromance film”. You believe it and you want to see more of it.
The supporting case is equally excellent with Brie Larson and Dave Franco leading the way, playing against Hill and Tatum and adding their own comedic texture to the film. If you haven’t noticed her yet, get ready because Brie Larson is here to stay. Seemingly everywhere this year – as a rebelling teen daughter to Woody Harrelson in Rampart, the sexually charged and gregarious Stephanie in The Trouble With Bliss, making her directorial with Weighting and The Arm, and now as Molly in 21 JUMP STREET, it appears that Larson knows no bounds. As Molly, she brings youthful exuberance and impeccable comedic timing to a role that could have fallen by the wayside. And she demonstrates a great talent for physical comedy. She is as comfortable in her chemistry with Jonah Hill as she is with Dave Franco’s Eric. And speaking of James Franco’s younger brother Dave, he shines as the confident environmentalist, activist, peace-loving and profit-turning Eric. But where Franco catches me off guard is his ability to turn his emotion on a dime and turn into a whiney, whimpering simp. As opined by director Chris Miller, what the supporting cast “brought out in Jonah and Channing was almost as important as what they did themselves.”
In a part written specifically with him in mind, Ice Cube is delicious as the foul-mouthed Captain Dickson. Nick Offerman plays Deputy Chief Hardy, the man at the end of his rope with Jenko and Schmidt and who has the pleasure of sending them off to Jump Street which, according to Chief Hardy, has been resurrected “because the department is out of ideas.” A real stand-out is Rob Riggles. As the somewhat obnoxious athletic coach Mr. Walters, he makes students fodder for abuse and heckling while bringing a likeably buffoonish tone to the character.
Written by Michael Bacall based on a story by Bacall and Jonah Hill, and co-directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team makes 21 JUMP STREET everything a laugh-out-loud comedy should be. The pace is non-stop, high octane energy and laughter. Rarely do you get a chance to catch your breath lest the momentum be lost, however, it is surprisingly during “action” sequences when there are some momentary breathers, only to be quickly recharged with a comedic character or dialogue tweak. And look for some real twists and turns as the film heads to its “climactic” result.
As the undercover work of Jenko and Schmidt progresses, 21 JUMP STREET celebrates and showcases, often subtly, 30 years of pop culture and particularly, the changed human perceptions of acceptance and stereotyping. The film just gets funnier and funnier in its comedy, structure and touchstones to common resonating experiences (like having a keg party at home with your parents out of town only to get busted), current concerns of students of today (the environment, bullying, prejudice) with each gag funnier than the last, but each with meaning and purpose at propelling the story and each character forward, until its ultimate, mind-blowing conclusion.
All admitted fans of the original 21 Jump Street, according to Miller, it was important that they “honor[ed] the show and put a lot of little details in there for people who were fans of the show. We liked this idea of getting a second chance to go back to high school.” But with honoring the original show (like playing the original series on background televisions throughout the film) and making the film fast-paced and funny, comes the need for thought and preparation. With this in mind, during casting much attention was paid to each actorfs ability to improv. Miller and Lord “knew we wanted to have a lot of improvisation in it so we were very picky about making sure everybody could think very quickly on their feet.” Something I believe was a strong asset to them during filming is the fact that Miller and Lord took acting classes in preparation of writing and directing as it not only made them think about the scenes from the actorsf points of view, but it was “helpful from a writing standpoint” allowing them to create scenarios, dialogue and situations “giving actors something tangible to play off of.”
And as for those aforementioned cameos? You gotta see ’em to believe ’em! Suffice to say, you will be amazed, awed and thrilled.
The Funniest Film of the Year – 21 JUMP STREET!! Jump on over to Jump Street now.
Schmidt – Jonah Hill
Jenko – Channing Tatum
Molly – Brie Larson
Eric – Dave Franco
Captain Dickson – Ice Cube
Deputy Chief Hardy – Nick Offerman
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Written by Michael Bacall based on a story by Bacall and Jonah Hill.
