HILL (LEFT) AND TATUM. Their comic zingers are right on the money
The movie “22 Jump Street” sticks closely to its predecessor’s frothy comedic formula—but, while it feels thematically slight and repetitive on the surface, it nonetheless brims with the kind of winking wit and irreverent humor that makes for a fun time at the movies.
It doesn’t hurt that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, with the laugh-out-loud hilarious Ice Cube (as their ill-tempered boss, Captain Dickson) in tow, sell the bungling-cops-go-to-college conceit so well—with comic zingers that are right on the money!
After making their way through high school, Morton Schmidt aka Doug (Hill) and Greg Jenko aka Brad (Tatum) go undercover at a local college to investigate the drug-related death of a student, Cynthia Watson.
Newfound popularity
The duo’s mission is to find Cynthia’s slippery supplier, who could in turn lead them to the cartel behind the deadly drugs—but, that’s easier said than done, because the bosom buddies are starting to drift apart: With the help of campus jock cum fratman, Zook (Wyat Russell), Brad is beginning to enjoy his newfound popularity as a rising football star—a situation that has Doug feeling left out!
Doug’s ego-crushing experience leads him to sensitive art student, Maya (Amber Stevens), who later shares an intimate moment with him. But, when the college gal’s disapproving dad—who turns out to be Captain Dickson (!)—finds out about the pair’s “consensual coupling,” all hell breaks loopily loose!
True, the gags of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s action-comedy caper don’t always fly, but Hill and Tatum manage to make many of them work because of their chemistry and comic timing. Instructively, the jokes aren’t as funny on paper as when they’re cheekily delivered by the film’s adorable actors.
More highlights: When Jenko sets foot on the college campus for the first time and gets emotional (“I’m the first person in my family ‘to pretend’ to go to college”), and when Schmidt reacts to his girlfriend’s furious father (“Give the guy some water! He’s black—he’s been through a lot!”). Then, add to those scenes Hill’s “intimate” moment with a clingy octopus!
Hopeless duo
If you want to “decompress” after a hard day’s work, this is the movie to see, because it entertains with harmless fun and silly humor. It’s easy to feel that the tale of the hapless, hopeless duo has stretched too thin by now—but, while it isn’t as fresh as the first installment, the franchise remains funny.
Aside from Hill, Tatum, Cube and Rob Riggle (who hams it up in his spot-on impression of Hill), Jillian Bell (as Maya’s roommate, Mercedes) is just as wacky—especially when she tells Doug, who insists that he’s only 19, how much older he truly looks compared to other students: “You look like a 40-year-old freshman!”
And, if Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson and Peter DeLuise (from the original cast of the ’80s TV series that inspired the franchise) were seen in special roles in the first movie, this time, watch out for Richard Grieco (Booker) and Dustin Nguyen (Ioki) in blink-and-miss cameo appearances! —But, what will Schmidt and Jenko do for an encore?