It always sucks to be the last guy to see a movie. As much as I try to avoid the comments and opinions of those who may have seen it before me, so I can walk in with no preconceived notions, no expectations and basically a blank slate for which the film to impact, there are always going to be people who go out of there way to impose their views on me, thereby clouding my judgment before I ever even get my ass in a seat to see it for myself. They want to tell me all about their experiences with the film, how it made them feel, how much they loved it, how hilarious it was, and all it does it begin to form a base of standards by which I’ll subconsciously be measuring the movie against when I finally do have the opportunity to see it. I don’t read other reviews before I write my own, and I don’t really like talking about a movie much, except for right after the credits roll when my mind’s not fully made up yet, because I don’t want someone else’s feelings ruining the purity of my own opinion.
Unfortunately, that’s what happened with 21 JUMP STREET, the big screen adaptation of the late-80s crime drama that put Johnny Depp on the path to stardom and Richard Grieco on the one towards obscurity. I won’t go so far as to say the constant barrage of comments telling me that it was “sooooo hilarious” ruined my enjoyment of the movie, but it certainly undercut it. With quite a few of my colleagues and a number of readers unleashing their high praise for 21 JUMP STREET, the bar was set incredibly high, particularly by those who insisted on using “OMG” to further cement how great of a comedy they believed it to be.
The film just doesn’t reach that level though, transforming the high school undercover operation of the show into your typical buddy cop movie. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play Schmidt and Jenko, a couple of opposites who become best friends during their time at the Metropolitan City Police Academy, as each others’ strengths – Schmidt’s the brains, Jenko’s the brawn – make up for the others’ weaknesses. From their time in high school at different ends of the social ladder – Schmidt was an Eminem clone of the worst kind, Jenko was the popular dumb jock – they’ve come a long way to develop their current friendship/brotherhood.
After a failed beat as bike cops in the park – I’ll let you guess which one doesn’t actually know the Miranda rights – Schmidt and Jenko are sent down to 21 Jump Street to play undercover teens at a high school, where their directive is to take down the drug trade before it spreads. Find the dealer. Infiltrate the supplier. It’s as simple as that, and they have a stereotypical angry black Captain (Ice Cube) to remind them. While only around for a short portion of the film, this is a return to the Ice Cube we’ve been missing for quite some time. His Capt. Dickson is much more reminscient of old school Cube, much more likely to drop a “motherfucker” or two when the mood strikes over asking “Are we there yet?” Cube’s moments make for some of the film’s funniest, as he riffs with pissed-off vigor on the archetype derived from police captains in BEVERLY HILLS COP, LETHAL WEAPON, LAST ACTION HERO, etc.
Right away, the duo’s plans for fitting in couldn’t be more dated, as what was once geek is now cool and what was cool is now frowned upon. Driving a cool car isn’t enough to thrust you into the in-crowd, especially in this environmentally friendly age where gas mileage matters, not how many horses are under the engine. The transition back to high school isn’t made any easier when Schmidt and Jenko take on the wrong identities, with the obvious choices for track star and chemistry nerd getting reversed. 21 JUMP STREET relies a lot upon this fish-out-of-water dynamic, with both characters out of their element – Hill with the cool kids and Tatum with the uncool – and that’s fine for a few laughs. However, 21 JUMP STREET works best when they’re together, not divided. Watching them either on drugs, trying to prevent each other from consuming them or chasing after bad guys while expecting obvious explosions, their scenes in tandem far exceed Tatum and Hill having to carry stretches of the film themselves. Their supporting cast (Dave Franco and Brie Larson) can’t cut it when compared to their odd couple chemistry, and, as a result, 21 JUMP STREET gets taken down a notch every moment Hill and Tatum are apart.
Channing Tatum is the real surprise of 21 JUMP STREET, basically using the public perception of his acting to his advantage. It’s been easy to criticize him for the roles he’s chosen in the past – STEP UP, FIGHTING, G.I. JOE, DEAR JOHN, THE VOW – where his lack of charisma has been easy to judge as just another pretty face with no business on-screen. It’s been mostly action or melodrama that have been his calling cards, but, for the first time, Tatum is able to display he has a solid sense of comedic timing to pull off a character whose big, dumb jock fits into this big, dumb actor box he’d put himself into. It’s a welcome change from the Tatum we’ve seen previously, and, if anything, 21 JUMP STREET may serve as a turning point in his career, one where he proved the naysayers wrong that he does belong in pictures.
The advance hype is really what killed 21 JUMP STREET for me, but, even in battling through that, I can admit there is a decent comedy here. The film falls victim to some elements of the buddy cop formula as it moves along into fairly predictable territory, but there are enough laughs to be had to make up for it. Just don’t expect hard, rolling on the floor, piss your pants type of laughter. 21 JUMP STREET doesn’t get that funny. It’s a few snickers with maybe two or three really good set-ups that deliver, and that’s about it. I wish I wasn’t expecting more, but that’s the build I walked into, and, as a result, I walked away a bit disappointed.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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