It’s easy, and maybe even recommended, to go into a movie like “21 Jump Street” with stymied expectations. By their very nature, remakes can often be un-ironically cocky, formulaic, and shallow. After seeing so many films that have left me feeling worn and dissatisfied, I knew the sort of mindset and expectations to bring to Jump Street. This time, though, I was pleasantly surprised.
It’s worth mentioning that “21 Jump Street,” which slyly reboots the late ’80s high school crime-melodrama as an action-comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, is not a “good” movie. It would be ridiculous to say it was. You’re not going to leave the theater moved or transformed, and the film probably won’t stick in your mind for very long. However, for what it is, “21 Jump Street” is actually a really good movie.
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Millar, the film deals with two undercover cops infiltrating a high school in order to find the origin point of a new synthetic drug which resulted in the recent death of a student at the school. The cops (Tatum and Hill) are an odd match, each embodying a different high school stereotype. Tatum’s Greg Jenko is handsome, socially confident, and unintelligent, while Hill’s Morton Schmidt is awkward, self-conscious, and insecure. The two actually knew each other in high school, and in the police academy they became friends; helping each other with their respective weaknesses and, over time, forming a strong (though unlikely) friendship. As they get a chance to relive high school, however, the two are forced apart by unfamiliar social norms that favor Hill’s hardworking earnestness over Tatum’s devil-may-care, too-cool-for-school flippancy.
For fans of comedy (particularly those films starring Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and the Judd Apatow team), the film offers all of the familiar tropes. The dialogue is sharp, fast, and unbelievably crude, creating a familiar but very funny banter based around pop culture references, four-letter tirades, and sexual descriptions that you probably shouldn’t think about for too long, lest you accidentally picture one. Additionally, as is now common in the action-comedy genre, the film has fun integrating some action set pieces into the mix, complete with comically overdone violence. In short, the film hits all of its genre’s hallmarks. But where “21 Jump Street” really succeeds is in the way it then turns on the tropes and the formulas that it thrives on and calls attention to the underlying clichés inherent in comedies, remakes, and action films.
The self-referential tone of the film, it should be said, is far from subtle. While some films wink and nudge, “21 Jump Street” engages in totally self-absorbed full-body spasms, mocking itself while still moving forward, full speed, with whatever is being lampooned.
The best example of this comes early on in the film, when Hill and Tatum are given their assignment. The police chief informs them that they will be participating in a top-secret undercover program that the force has recently revived, adding that the cops have gotten so uncreative that instead of coming up with new programs, the station would rather just dust off old ones and act like people don’t notice the repackaging. Later in that same scene, the chief, while sending the pair off, dramatically informs them that they’ll be reporting to—dun dun dun—37 Jump Street, before stopping himself and wondering why that doesn’t sound right.
This technique of shining light on the generic machinery of the film comes back multiple times in a variety of forms. First, there is the running joke about whether the gas tanks of cars damaged in a highway chase will explode. Then there is the overseer of the undercover program (Ice Cube), the “angry, black police captain” (his words) who wants his officers to know that, yes, he is black and he works very hard, so he sometimes happens to get angry.
This attitude of self-mockery gives the film an extra burst of energy and makes it feel less manipulative or cheap than other films of the genre, even when the proceedings get emotional. “21 Jump Street” just wants to have a good time, and it wants you to be there for the ride.
The last thing worth mentioning is the emotional drama of the film. I personally hate it when crude, raucous comedies attempt to shoe-horn in some meaningful poignant message amidst all the dick jokes. I understand the urge, but it has never really worked for me—until this film, at least. Much of the film’s personal drama stems from the conflicting experiences the two main characters had in high school: Hill’s terrible time as a nerd, and Tatum’s magnificent tenure as the cool kid. When they go undercover, these positions are reversed, and Hill’s character is lauded as funny and sensitive while Tatum’s is branded an asshole. Though high-school social politics may not be a unique topic to deal with, I thought “21 Jump Street” did a great job of bringing up what it means to be loved and approved of in high school while not derailing the stride of the film’s action or humor.
That’s not to say the film is flawless. The humor can get repetitive, and the gore a bit unnecessary in certain scenes (one scene at the end is so overwhelmingly gross, that I actually gagged). There’s a subplot involving Tatum’s character’s relationship with his chemistry teacher (Ellie Kemper) that is underdeveloped and somewhat extraneous.
On the whole, though, given the opportunity to be quick, forgettable, and shallow, “21 Jump Street” breaks free from the worst excesses of formulaic filmmaking, offering swagger, smirk, and humorous self-awareness. Among all the crude humor, the winking, and the cursing, “21 Jump Street” succeeds with low-brow humor, high energy, and the best intentions, suggesting that beneath the white prom tuxes, the holsters, and the Kevlar, there’s a warm heart to all the film’s proceedings. Of course, that’s assuming you believe warm hearts can be found in high school.