21 Jump Street (2012)

Twenty-five years after the 21 Jump Street show first premiered on television, Hollywood has borrowed it to rehash yet another old idea into a new cashflow. The difference from this norma lroutine is that the new 21 Jump Street movie is actually quite good. Who would have thought it? Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star as two guys who were nerd and bully respectively in high school, but who became friends in police training. They are put into the 21 Jump Street program in which officers go undercover to rid high schools of teenage crimes. In this case, there's a new, very potent drug going around that our heroes must uncover. That can only work if they overcome the differences they have between each other. Lots of silly comedy ensues.

Any complaints that fans of the dramatic show had about the movie being a comedy were probably done away with once they actually saw it. This is one funny movie, the kind that is easily watched over and over without getting old. That's one of the reasons it's become so popular. Few of these R-rated crude comedies rise to the challenge of becoming more than just in-the-moment jokes and potty humor. Like last year's Bridesmaids, 21 Jump Street has staying power and is hilarious. Another big part of the film's success is in the casting of Hill and Tatum, both of whom have their own enormous fanbases among young people, with Hill also having just earned an Oscar nomination for Moneyball. He lost a lot of weight for this role, but could still not be seen as skinny, which is half his charm to begin with. Not every big star has to look like Channing Tatum, who also impresses here with excellent comic timing and delivery. They're just plain likeable guys and they are more easily relatable than the people who appear in most of the other big movies. The humor of the screenplay by Michael Bacall is also impressive in itself, relying heavily on jokes about how bad these movies usually are. It's practically a parody of movies in general, covering the cliches usually found in teen movies, action movies, and comedies. By laughing at them, it overcomes them.

Here is a comedy I can get behind. It makes me laugh, but does more than just that. It could have easily gotten away with the usual throw-away jokes, but is too good for them. It is equally crass and charming, low-brow and intelligent. It is better than anything you might expect, and I think it has what it takes to become more than just one of the best comedies of 2012, and could easily stand alongside the films of John Hughes as one of the great teen comedies.

8/10