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22 Jump Street
| Released |
6 June 2014 |
| Director(s) |
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller |
Starring
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Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormore, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens, Jillian Bell, Ice Cube |
Writer(s)
|
Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, Rodney Rothman |
Producer(s)
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Jonah Hill, Neal H. Moritz, Channing Tatum |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
112 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy, action, crime |
| Rating |
15A |
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High jump.
As a great philosopher (David St. Hubbins from Spinal Tap) once said, there’s a very thin line between clever and stupid. Somewhere along this line is the comedic sweet spot - that perfect mix of wit and wisdom that is such a difficult tightrope act to accomplish. This is precisely what 22 Jump Street is aiming for and for the most part it succeeds by mixing absurd comedy with a whole heap of self-awareness.
We meet cops Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) back on the streets tracking down drug dealers - a task they aren’t too good at. After an attempted drug bust goes horribly awry, they are sent undercover yet again. As Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) rightly points out, Schmidt and Jenko now look about fifty, so going back to high school isn’t really an option. Instead, the duo head for the local college to track down the dealers of a particularly deadly drug that enables students to “work hard then play hard.” While Schmidt finds it hard to settle into college life, Jenko quickly finds kindred spirits among the frat-house jocks. As they struggle to find any leads, the formerly close partners find themselves drifting apart.
After the success of the first film, the motto here is very much “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Looking beyond the similarities of the plot, the film again relies on the goofy chemistry between the two physically mismatched leading men to provide the laughs, while allowing the talented supporting cast to occasionally steal the limelight (step forward Jillian Bell as an unapologetically offensive roommate and The Lucas Brothers as a pair of endearingly perma-stoned twins). Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller keep the action sharp, while allowing for the occasional surreal flight of fancy - what else would we expect from the men who brought us Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?
Comedy sequels rarely hit the mark (as the 22 Jump Street script repeatedly reminds us) and although the Jump crew may have lost a little of their novelty this time around, they have still produced a good-natured comedy that happily stays on the sunny side of the street and is all the better for it.
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Linda O’Brien |
