22 Jump Street Review

Rated R (Language Throughout, Sexual Content, Drug Material, Brief Nudity and Some Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 52 Minutes

Cast-

Jonah Hill-Morton Schmidt

Channing Tatum-Gregory 'Greg' Jenko

O'Shea Jackson/Ice Cube-Captain Dickson

Amber Stevens-Maya

Wyatt Russell-Zook

Jillian Bell-Mercedes

Peter Stormare-The Ghost

Nick Offerman-Deputy Chief Hardy

The Lucas Brothers-Keith and Kenny Yang

Jimmy Tatro-Rooster

Marc Evan Jackson-Dr. Murphy

Caroline Aaron-Annie Schmidt

Joe Chrest-David Schmidt

Eddie J. Fernandez-Scarface

Rye Rye-Jr. Jr.

Craig Roberts-Spencer

Johnny Pemberton-Delroy

Stanley Wong-Roman

Dax Flame-Zack

Dave Franco-Eric Molson

Rob Riggle-Mr. Walters

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Schmidt and Jenko are going undercover again in "22 Jump Street."

Note: Screened on Monday, June 2, 2014 at AMC Empire 25.

Bad ideas are a dime a dozen in Hollywood (remember Disney's $215 million disaster "The Lone Ranger"?) but the film industry is a crazy, crazy place and sometimes, miracles do happen as movies based on ideas that sounded truly horrible at the time emerge as bona fide hits that nobody was expecting. A perfect example would be 2012's "21 Jump Street." Annouced back in 2008 by Sony/Columbia Pictures, the idea of a cinematic revival of a late-1980s cult television show wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms and people naturally took to the Internet to air their grievances. The biggest point of contention was that the person adapting it for the big screen was none other than Jonah Hill, who's primarily known for his comedic work. Considering that the television show was a cross between a police procedural and a teen-issue drama, shoehorning the film adaptation into an R-rated comedy vehicle for the "Superbad" crowd just seemed like a recipe for a huge disaster. Enter directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who managed to turn a bad idea into a fresh and hilariously funny spin on both the high school and buddy cop movie. Lord and Miller have since become the go-to guys for turning terrible ideas into great films, as evidenced by this past February's "The LEGO Movie," one of the best films of 2014. Given the critical and commercial success of "21 Jump Street"—which grossed $201.6 million worldwide against a $42 million production budget—a sequel was pretty much a no-brainer and was put on the fast-track by Sony/Columbia Pictures. Comedy sequels almost never live up to the original (see "The Hangover" sequels as an example) but Lord and Miller manages to surprise us once again by bucking that trend. Better, funnier, smarter, and even more self-aware, "22 Jump Street" is one of those rare comedy sequels that improves upon its predecessor in almost every way, making it the best comedy of the year so far.

After surviving a second stint in high school while also taking down a drug trafficking ring in the process, undercover police officers Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Gregory 'Greg' Jenko (Channing Tatum) are back on the beat as they attempt to apprehend a notorious drug lord known only as 'Ghost' (Peter Stormare). Unfortunately, Schmidt and Jenko's pursuit of the drug lord ends in complete disaster, allowing Ghost to escape arrest. As a result of their incompetence, Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) puts the duo back on the Jump Street program with Captain Dickson (O'Shea Jackson/Ice Cube), now located across the street at the bigger, more expensive-looking Vietnamese church at 22 Jump Street. Dickson reveals that a new synthetic drug dubbed 'WHYPHY' (stands for 'Work Hard? Yes. Play Hard? Yes') has been making the rounds on various college campuses, which means Schmidt and Jenko will once again have to go undercover, only this time they'll be posing as college students at Metro City State College. Utilizing their old undercover identities as brothers, the duo tries to do what they did last time: infiltrate the dealers, find the supplier. However, that's easier said than done when the pair's relationship finds itself put to the test once more as they hit the halls of higher education. Jenko joins the football team and befriends fellow dimwitted jock Zook (Wyatt Russell) while Schmidt, left on the outside, falls in with the bohemian art major scene and strikes up a romance with Maya (Amber Stevens). Will Schmidt and Jenko reunite in time to solve the case and stop the drug dealers?!

Good luck trying not to cause any property damage!

Humor thrives on being fresh and unpredictable, which is why comedy sequels often turn out to be major disappointments. What was funny the first time becomes less so when repeated ad nauseam. Unlike action or science fiction films, comedies are rarely made with sequels in mind. If a follow-up is made, it only exists because the original unexpectedly happened to make a boatload of money. Just look to "The Hangover" trilogy as a perfect example. The first "Hangover" film grossed over $460 million worldwide in 2009 against a cheap $35 million production budget. Even before it became a hit, director Todd Phillips was already approached by Warner Brothers to make a sequel. 2011's "The Hangover: Part II" is basically a carbon copy of the first film, just set in Bangkok, Thailand rather than in Las Vegas. Despite its $586.8 million haul, "Part II" received largely negative reviews, with 2013's "The Hangover: Part III"—which eschewed the formula of its two predecessors—faring even worse both critically and commercially (although it wasn't an outright box office flop). Given the high failure rate of comedy sequels, why in the hell would Phil Lord and Christopher Miller make a film that feels like a rehash by returning to direct "22 Jump Street"? The answer: so that they can make fun of sequels!

Hilariously self-aware, "22 Jump Street" is a winking, post-modern take on the nature of sequels, while also ironically being a sequel itself. Following a handy 'Previously on…' segment and an over-the-top action scene that would feel right at home in a "Fast & Furious" film, Schmidt and Jenko find themselves reprimanded once again by Deputy Chief Hardy, who explains to them (and by extension, the audience) that their latest screw-up is because they weren't doing the same thing again. Hardy goes on to say that 'nobody gave a sh*t about the Jump Street reboot. But you got lucky, so now this department has invested a lot of money to make sure Jump Street keeps going.' Cue numerous meta-jokes about the film's increased production budget, with Captain Dickson poking fun at Hollywood's weird economic system by sarcastically saying at one point that 'two times the budget means two times the profit, right?' The budget even 'runs out' halfway through the film due to Schmidt and Jenko overspending on police equipment. Dickson angrily orders the duo to make the rest of their investigation less expensive but ten minutes later, Schmidt and Jenko are involved in a ridiculous car chase where they futilely try not to cause any more property damage! The script—written by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, and Rodney Rothman, with Jonah Hill also contributing—intentionally mirrors the original film, with our hapless police officers being repeatedly told to 'do the exact same thing.' Sounds simple enough, until Schmidt and Jenko discover that doing the same thing doesn't work! Not content with just roasting the whole idea of sequels, "22 Jump Street" also mocks college-movie and romantic comedy clichés, with Lord and Miller wringing out a lot of humor through role reversals, from Schmidt's post-hookup 'walk of shame' to Jenko being the popular one this time around. At almost two hours, the film would've benefited from some minor trimming in the editing room but this is just nitpicking on my part as there's not a second that goes by where you're not laughing. However, nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to the glorious closing credits so make sure to stick around once the film ends.

"We Jump Street, and we 'bout to jump in yo ass!"

Given how hysterical "22 Jump Street" is, it's hard not to imagine Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum having the time of their lives playing Schmidt and Jenko. Like Lord and Miller, the two are obviously aware of the joke and gleefully embrace the film's over-the-top craziness. The chemistry they share is phenomenal and spontaneous, with the two actors rapidly bouncing jokes off each other like a pair of Gatling guns. After forming an unlikely friendship in the first film, Schmidt and Jenko find themselves stuck in a rut in the sequel. They frequently bicker like an old married couple, with a lot of the humor being derived from how homoerotic their friendship is. Fortunately, the pair's 'bromance' never devolves into moronic 'gay panic' territory and instead functions as a sincere, affectionate ode to male friendships everywhere. Hill and Tatum bring so many laughs to "22 Jump Street" but the film's biggest scene stealer is Ice Cube. Reprising his role as Captain Dickson, Ice Cube is an absolute riot to watch. There's a scene set in a restaurant that will leave you doubled over in your seat from laughing so much. Hell, I was literally crying! Another scene stealer is Jillian Bell (from Comedy Central's "Workaholics") as Maya's creepy, misanthropic roommate Mercedes. Everything she says is just comedy gold, with the character displaying an exuberant unpredictability as you never know what she's going to do next! Amber Stevens is appealing as Schmidt's love interest Maya while Wyatt Russell excels as Jenko's equally dimwitted dude-bro Zook. Fun cameos also abound, from the perpetually-high Lucas Brothers to the hilariously deadpanning Nick Offerman.

Released on June 13, 2014, "22 Jump Street" has received fantastic reviews with 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Calling it 'the rare [comedy] sequel that improves upon the original,' critics praised the film for 'boasting even more of the bromantic chemistry between its stars and…the goofy, good-natured humor that made its predecessor so much fun.' When I saw "22 Jump Street" at the press screening, the theater frequently erupted in laughter and if this reaction is any indication, Lord and Miller is poised to have another box office hit on their hands. The directors may often poke fun at Hollywood's lack of creativity and their overreliance on reboots, prequels, and sequels but as "22 Jump Street" repeatedly affirms, these guys definitely know what they're doing and I'm confident that when they return for the inevitable third installment, they'll pull off another impossible feat: break the second-sequel curse.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

"SOMETHING COOL!"

Make sure to stick around during and after the end credits!