22 Jump Street

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormare, Amber Stevens, Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen (cameo), Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, Wyatt Russell, Jillian Bell
Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) take on another dangerous assignment, this time heading to college.

Review:

Tim: I'm still surprised that 21 Jump Street worked as a movie. I was pretty skeptical, and while it wasn't incredible, it was a solid movie. I wasn't sure what to think about 22 Jump Street- would the magic disappear? Luckily, returning directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are talented enough to once again pull off a stunner, delivering a sequel that's every bit as good as the original. This is a funny movie and one I'd recommend.

One of the greatest strengths of this movie is when it hilariously riffs on sequels. The movie's meta aspects were the highlights for me. The joke about how they moved across the street to 22 Jump Street (and that they'd probably move back across the street someday to 23 Jump Street) was hilarious. It was that winking at the audience and willingness to admit how absurd the whole thing is that made me really like this movie. There's also an incredible scene with Nick Offerman that sums up why so many movies fail- because they want them to just do the exact same thing they did last time. That scene technically works within the context of the film, but it's a hilarious commentary on the approach most studios take to sequels. It made some of the film's flaws forgivable, because at least those involved with the production were upfront about it. I criticize movies when writers and directors think they're smarter than the audience and try to repackage the exact same story again and again. At least this movie was upfront about the pressures on it. Honestly, I laughed more about those scenes than anything else in the film. The rest of the movie was decent to good, but the meta scenes commenting on the film and sequels in Hollywood were brilliant.

The rest of the movie wasn't bad, but it's all a bit predictable. The plot does follow the same formula as the first film. While there are humorous moments throughout, there's some problematic parts too. I honestly cannot comprehend why so many jokes were made about Hill and Tatum discussing their friendship like they were discussing a romantic relationship. This has been done dozens and dozens of times before in other movies. If it was ever funny, that time is long since past. It wasn't funny in the least- it was annoying and sad to see how firmly the film clung onto those scenes in the hopes of eliciting laughs. It was really frustrating and the constantly hammering on that unfunny bit revealed how close this script might have been to becoming a disaster. Luckily, there's enough other strengths to balance it out.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum continue to surprise with their chemistry on screen. They are just fun to watch together. When they weren't bickering like a married couple (how original and hilarious!), they had great scenes together. It was fun watching them. Amber Stevens was fine as Hill's love interest. I liked seeing Ice Cube and Nick Offerman back. I do wish they had a few more scenes together. Wyatt Russell gave a good performance. Peter Stormare was fine. Jillian Bell was actually pretty funny and delivered one of the best performances of the cast. I was impressed with this film's ability to add unknown actors and get very strong performances out of them.

As I think about 22 Jump Street, I am impressed that this movie maintained the same level of surprising quality that the original delivered. Neither films were great, but they were good comedies. The conclusion of this film featured maybe the funniest part of either movie- a run down of all the future sequels, each getting more and more ridiculous. It was incredible, but I wonder what that means for future movies. I have to say I'm hoping we get a 23 Jump Street- I don't expect it'll be great, but it'll be pretty fun.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 21 Jump Street, The Sitter, Pineapple Express, Moneyball