22 Jump Street: Movie Review
Two years ago, director’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller wowed audiences (as well as critics) with the insanely funny cinematic reboot of the 80’s television show “21 Jump Street”. Jonah Hill teamed up with Channing Tatum as a couple of cops who went undercover to infiltrate and take down drug dealers at a local high school. Tatum especially surprised me with just how funny he is. I was not a Tatum fan prior to “21 Jump Street” but since then, he has proven that he is capable of quite a bit more than originally thought.
I honestly did not know what to expect going into “22 Jump Street”. As most are aware, sequels (especially comedy sequels) are rarely as good as the original. Most of the time, they are forced and unable to reignite the magic of what made the first film so funny. The team behind “22 Jump Street” are well aware of this issue and they have no problem reminding us so, over and over again. In fact that “22 Jump Street” is a sequel winds up being a running gag throughout the movie.
This time around Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) go undercover at the City College to infiltrate the dealers of a new kind of drug and find the supplier, exactly like the first film. The only clue the pair have to go on is a photo of a hooded dealer with a unique tattoo on their arm. In order to cover more ground, Schmidt joins the bohemian art crowd and Jenko joins the football team. It is on the team where Jenko meets a kindred spirit by the name of Zook (Wyatt Russell). This of course doesn’t sit well with Schmidt, who feels like his partner rather spend time with his new friends than work on the case. Schmidt isn’t completely alone. He develops a relationship with Maya (Amber Stevens), a student at the college.
“22 Jump Street” is basically a retread of the first film, but much of its’ self-aware humor actually works. When Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) and Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) refer to the police department budget, we all know they are actually talking about the budget of the movie. An awesome addition to the cast are comedians Keith and Kenny Yang, who play a twins that stay in the dorm room across from Schmidt and Jenko. I wish these guys had more screen time because they are truly funny.
“22 Jump Street” is not as good as the “21 Jump Street” but it has enough laughs to make it a pretty worthy follow up. In fact, I laughed enough that I won’t mind a “23 Jump Street”. If the end credits are any indication, the filmmakers have plenty of educational institutions they can send the Jump Street cops to.
By: Marc Ferman