Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, and now Channing and Jonah.
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“22 Jump Street” is the sequel to the surprise comedy hit based on the TV show 21 Jump Street. It once again teams up Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as undercover cops on the hunt for a drug dealer, this time by infiltrating a college campus rather than a high school one. Our heros relationship is once again put to the test through a series of surprising developments and hilarious hi-jinks ensue. Well at least the filmmakers hope they are hilarious.
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And good news for them, for the most part they are. Yeah, this is a really funny movie. It embraces the zany, raunchy, self referential, feel of the first and even pushes it to another level. Most of this, in my opinion, is due to Tatum and Hill’s incredible comedic chemistry. Do they deserve a hybrid name by now? And do we go with Joe-ning or Chan-ah? Maybe Tay-till? Whatever the case, these guys play off of each other so well that it’s hard not to root for more opportunities for them to work together. Seriously, you would think that the police partnership masquerading as marriage relationship joke would get old here but honestly every time they play that schtick the theater was absolutely rolling. I also have to give props to Ice Cube, who is given a bit more to do in this one and adds quite a bit of humor as well. There’s a real sense of freedom in this as well and you can tell after the success of the first that this team is just laying back into this and fully embracing the silliness of this franchise. Some of the meta jokes in this are really pretty clever and often extend even outside the universe of the movie itself. Of course, the parody, and downright ridiculousness of it all does tend to undercut the drama or any genuine emotion, but most people will find them laughing hard enough that it probably won’t matter to them.
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It did matter to me though, and was one of a few issue I had with the film. Another is that just because you admit that you are blatantly copying the formula and plot of the first movie doesn’t mean that makes it work. It’s the classic admit your faults first technique, but at the end of the day they are still faults. Have the guts to think of something new and reward your audience with not only laughs but some surprises as well. Or even depth! Imagine if instead of just saying, “Yeah, we are just a lame movie trying to make you laugh without anything really to say” you actually wove some themes and character development into the plot. Jonah and Channing’s chemistry would still be there, the sense of humor would still slay the crowds, but the movie might have that extra level of resonance that keeps it in our minds past the first viewing. Why do I feel like I’m giving a discipline speech to my teenage son right now? “Son, don’t sell yourself short, you have so much potential, if you just put your mind to it, you could do so much more.” Once a dad, always a dad, I suppose. Happy Father’s Day.
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At the end of the day, “22 Jump Street” is a funny movie that should have audiences laughing if for no other reason than the genius chemistry of it’s leads. But beyond the laughter there isn’t much else to get this grade up to more than a B.
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Thanks for checking out this Your Movie Friend review, stay tuned for this review’s “Best Ever” challenge here in bit but first, I’m going to put up some stuff you can click over in this area. If you’d like to subscribe, which I would much appreciate, you can do so by clicking the big gray subscribe button. Want to see more? Reviews of the new How to Train Your Dragon sequel and “Alone Yet Not Alone” are available as well. You can also Click the logo up here to go to the all new yourmoviefriend.com where you can find a searchable database of reviews as well as the written text of these videos. And finally this review’s “Best Ever” Challenge, where you name the best movie ever in a particular category and also try to identify my choice. Since he’s in both the big movies this week (this and How to Train Your Dragon 2) What is the “the best Jonah Hill movie ever”. I’m going with the other movie this year that he teamed up with Tatum, even if it was more of a cameo. Drop your own answer and a guess at mine in the comments and first person to guess mine gets a point! Thanks and please subscribe!