On first glance at the 'red band' trailer for 21 Jump Street, it appeared to be a collection of people who had just discovered how to swear, and my interest in it wasn't particularly high. But faced with a choice between it and the average looking John Carter, I decided to give it a go, and was rewarded highly for the choice.
Based on the 80's teen drama that is best known for launching the career of Johnny Depp, 21 Jump Street is the story of two immature cops, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) who are re-assigned to a special police department that goes undercover at High Schools. Schimdt and Jenko must re-immerse themselves into that teenage world to bring down a drug ring.
But as the mission continues Schmidt and Jenko become subject to a bit of role reversal since their high school days, with one-time jock Jenko becoming an unpopular nerd, whilst Schimdt becomes a cool 'kid', but will this hamper their mission?
Whilst the TV show was more of a drama, the rebooted movie plays it for (very immature, mostly) laughs. But at the same time it's a very knowing pastiche of 80's buddy action movies. And as well as that, it manages to have some heart too. For those three things to come together so well is impressive indeed.
Whilst Jonah Hill is funny as ever, the real surprise is how well he and Channing Tatum gel together as the leads, and even more so how hilarious Tatum actually is! Not really known for his comedic roles, but you wouldn't know it watching this. Also worth looking for is Chris Parnell (30 Rock's Dr. Spaceman) as a drama teacher, who pretty much is his character from 30 Rock, some great ad-libbing (I assume!) on display.
The quality of the film shouldn't have been too surprising really, considering the script was written by Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim), and the film was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs), and both of these films were fantastic,.
The humour is pretty juvenile throughout, and it's extremely potty-mouthed, but some of the best jokes come from the situations you always see in buddy cop movies, the angry captain (played here by Ice Cube), the entire reinstatement of the department at Jump Street is treated like a movie remake to great effect in one scene, and an excellent gag in the middle of a car chase about pointless explosions is pitch perfect.
While the film never feels like it drags, there are a few moments where you realise it has been on for quite a while, and that really is the closest to negativity I can say about it. 21 Jump Street really was one of those films that was just so enjoyable, and made even more so when I didn't think it was going to be. A thoroughly pleasant surprise.
****
It may be a million miles away from the TV show, but 21 Jump Street is easily the funniest film of the year so far, and just a totally unexpected treat. Highly recommended.
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