Be real. When you first heard that Jonah Hill was planning to remake 1980s era, Stephen Cannell produced cop series, 21 Jump Street, you probably scoffed and wrote it off immediately. You wouldn't be alone, and the reaction isn't without justification. Helping to launch the career of Johnny Depp and being the highlight for others like Holly Robinson and Richard Grieco, the show was ridiculous on its face, centered on a special crime unit of youthful looking adults infiltrating colleges and high schools. Frankly, the show was more cool than good, and neither by the final season. Fortunately, Jonah Hill and writer Michael Bacall knew there was no reason to revere the source material, deciding to go for something akin to Superbad meets Police Academy. It was a gamble, but a gamble that paid off as 21 Jump Street isn't just hilarious, it's a modern day comedy classic.
Achieving the heights of hilarity that 21 Jump Street does couldn't have been accomplished by simply bringing the same old tired idea and plopping it onto the big screen. Too many other attempted remakes have made that mistake, thinking adding a few modern wrinkles will suffice. High school is nothing like it was twenty years ago. The social dynamics are different, the students are different, and the idea of who should be popular has experienced quite a shift. Setting up the change beautifully, we are first introduced to Morton Schmidt(Hill) and Greg Jenko(Channing Tatum) in high school, where Morton is an nerd doing his best Eminem impression, while Greg is the prototypical popular jock stud.
Fast forward a few years and both are enrolling in the police training program, and both are terrible for reasons the other can compensate for. Greg becomes the brawn, and Morton the brains. After proving they don't have what it takes to handle the rough 'n tumble beat as bike cops, they are unceremoniously dumped into a rehashed program to use young looking cops as undercover agents in high schools. Wearing a sense of self awareness on its sleeve, the film takes a few jabs at itself for being a warmed over rehash as well, up to and including the use of Ice Cube as the token angry, African-American police captain. Cube, who has become an expert at playing off his old N.W.A. persona, is in rare form here, snarling and sneering at every opportunity. If there's a scene stealer, it's him.When it comes to comedy, it's the little details that matter the most are often the funniest. Greg is hyped for an opportunity to go back to high school and be the popular guy again, while Morton is justifiably terrified of reliving those traumatic years. What they discover upon arrival is that the entire culture is different. Greg's bullying antics make him a loner, while Morton's brains and gentle nature earn him cred with the cool kids, which he uses to try and infiltrate their drug ring. In a lot of ways, 21 Jump Street has smarter insights into the ways teens think than some documentaries dedicated to the subject. You know from the start that Greg is going to get drunk off his new found popularity, and while it plays out like something out of Can't Buy Me Love, it works.
Insightful thought it may be, there's plenty of room for gross out gags, penis jokes, and toilet humor. Hill is old hat at this type of thing by now, although it's unfair to say he's playing the same role here. His character is a little less self confident than usual, and not at all the miscreant he played in Superbad. Tatum, a better actor than many want to give him credit for, shows an affinity for physical comedy we haven't seen from him before. It's hilarious to watch his blank, clearly confused face as the world he thought he knew is flipped upside down. Even more so, he's a ball to watch leaping over cars and beating up rowdy teenagers. The jokes at his expense, since he clearly has the body of a thirty year old man and towers over everybody, are some the film's best. Tatum seems more than willing to roll with the punches and cut loose. For the most part, the supporting cast shines as well. Bridesmaids co-star Ellie Kemper is equal parts sweet and filthy as a teacher with a Mary Kay Leternou style obsession with Tatum. Dave Franco doesn't have much to do, but Brie Larson gives a winning performance as Molly, the girl who falls for Hill's charms.
With so much attention focused on Hill, Tatum, and Bacall, it's easy to forget that the glue holding this madcap adventure together are directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their only gig up to this point was the animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and you can see they brought some of the comic madness of that film into 21 Jump Street. The action sequences, of which there are plenty, are fast paced and splashed with a little bit of Looney Tunes wackiness.
You don't have to have been a fan of the show to appreciate this 21 Jump Street, but if you were then the film will feel even more special. Cameos are sprinkled throughout, including one especially brilliant appearance special for 'Jump Street' die-hards. There's practically nothing this film gets wrong. Even the closing credits rock. If there's one thing that they can do to screw this up it's making us wait too long for a sequel.
