Police Academy meets Superbad!
“They are too old for this shift”. This was the tagline for 2012’s resurrection of 21 Jump Street, and pretty much sums up the plot. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play two lacklustre police officers, Schmidt and Jenko, who are sent back to high school, in order to infiltrate, and expose, a growing drug problem. Sceptical?
Firstly, let me point out that this is a surprisingly funny film that makes a lot of good decisions. Primarily, the casting of Hill and Tatum (a seemingly odd couple), whose characters experienced high school the first time round very differently. Schmidt, a chunky wannabe-rapper with shiny mouth-metal, suffered greatly at the hands of bullies like Jenko, who is mostly a moronic failure. The two become BFFs in the police academy though, helping the other with their shortcomings (one the brains one the brawn), and are partners in crime-stopping.
When the two are sent back to school, they find the place completely alien to them - the cool kids are not the wedgie-popping jocks of yesteryear, but, instead, eco-friendly cyber punks who spend more time talking about mother nature than other people’s mums. This alternate reality is reflected in the hierarchy where Schmidt and Jenko find themselves, their roles reversed, Schmidt is now cool and Jenko is a geek.
It is hard to write this synopsis without thinking: how in the hell did this movie get made? And why is it so good? Because, this plot aside, the movie amounts to a very funny, and superbly timed comedy that borders the right amount of slapstick/gross-out/pop-culture references. Hill is his usual tons-of-fun, snapping off plenty of witty lines whilst making us sympathetic towards him, and Tatum is a revelation - taking part in some of the funniest set-pieces in the movie (in particular where, in order to assert his dominance, he punches a kid in the face).
At times the movie beats the viewer over the head with its “you-tube generation” warnings, constantly reminding us all how out-of-touch adults seem to be with the modern youth. But, in essence this gives the film a charm - as much as the film is a throwback, so is the sentiment.
Watch this movie if you like foul-mouthed comedies, entertaining shenanigans, or Jonah Hill dressed as Eminem!
No comments:
Post a Comment