A fast-paced, comedy-adventure with lots of laughs and high school flashbacks!
I recently went to see the new action-comedy, 21 Jump Street, at the lovely Village Theatre located right here in Coronado. With Cherry Coke and freshly popped popcorn in hand, I excitedly settled in to watch this box office hit. The film is a movie-remake of the famous 1980’s television show, bearing the same name, that gave actor Johnny Depp his big break. The movie stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as two best friends and down-on-their-luck Police Officers who are thrust into a secret program that places youthful looking officers into high schools to fight crime. It’s a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud, comedy-adventure for mature audiences.
The movie begins by introducing Hill’s character as a high school geek, constantly picked on by Tatum’s character, the stereotypical high school jock with bad grades. After graduation from high school, both wind up attending the police academy and becoming best friends. Hill helps Tatum with exams and Tatum helps Hill with physical fitness. After the two become police officers, it becomes evident that they are not the cream of the police crop, but through an unfortunate series of events they eventually find themselves involved in the secret, undercover program located at 21 Jump Street. Here, the two are placed undercover in a local high school to discover more information about suppliers and producers of a new illegal drug, called HFS, that has been recently introduced. Once back at school, both Hill and Tatum discover how much things have changed since their days in high school. By accident, Hill quickly finds himself a part of the popular crowd, while an unhappy Tatum becomes a member of the geek squad. Now, as the two undercover cops find themselves in unfamiliar territory, they must learn to cope with their new roles while hopefully uncover the masterminds behind the new drugs. To make things worse, getting expelled from school equals being fired from the police force.
As is the case with many modern comedies geared towards older audiences, this film straddles the line between being very funny and easy to watch, and simply being over-the-top and crude. I believe that viewers recently out of high school and college, in the 20 to 30 year-old range, will enjoy and appreciate this film the most. Please be aware, this film is rated R and contains a lot of foul language, as well as adult content, violence, and glorified drug use. All of this being said, I really enjoyed my time watching 21 Jump Street and couldn’t stop laughing during many scenes, and by the sound of it, the rest of the audience was having the same positive reaction.
Length: 109 minutes
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Rob Riggle
Rating: R
Directed by: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Village Theatre Movie Times Available Here.
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Anne Covington
Online Editorial Intern
eCoronado.com
