21 Jump Street

So this week, Evan and I went to see 21 Jump Street. Not the TV show (because, frankly, most TV shows from the eighties are best left in the eighties. We always remember them fondly, but if you go back to them now, they tend to suck. Really badly), but the movie based on the concept of the TV show. Young-looking police officers infiltrate high school and bust up crimes. But really, when every movie is victim of Dawson Casting, I don't think it would work in real life.

Anyway, trailers this week were American Reunion, Neighborhood Watch, something Evan got, and That's My Boy - the latest Adam Sandler flick, with Adam Sandler doing Adam Sandler jokes. Pass.

The movie starts in 2005, which according to my calculations, was seven years ago. Jonah Hill (Schmidt) enters his high school doing the whole Eminem thing (short blond hair combed down, plain white shirt). He tries to ask his hot neighbor to prom, but can't get the words out. He's mocked by Channing Tatum (Jenko), but soon Jenko finds out that he can't go to prom either, what with his terrible grades and all. Schmidt is the typical square, Jenko is the typical cool guy.

Seven years later, they meet at the police academy. After a brief bout of hostility, they both realize that they're each good at what the other guy sucks at, and team up. They become friends and partners, but it turns out police work is much more boring than in movies and TV shows. And yes, it's quite meta to be showing how boring police work is compared to the movies ... in a movie (that will undoubtedly show exciting moments in police business). Meta is something that 21 Jump Street jokes with at times, though probably not the extent that critics are extolling it for.

The duo screws up their first arrest because Jenko doesn't know the Miranda rights (they always cut away before reaching the end on TV). Except that's not actually how it works - Miranda rights need to be said before an interrogation, but do not need to be read after an arrest. Even if they're not read at all, it's only what the suspect says that's inadmissible in court. Read more here.

Because of the screw up, they get transferred to 21 Jump Street, an undercover precinct disguised as a Korean Church (complete with Korean Jesus). It’s captained by an angry Ice Cube, and had a few extras that had solved a new case every time Schmidt and Jenko come in with an update.

Anyway, they get sent undercover to school, where the ideas of cool have changed so much in seven years. Jenko tries to fall back on what he thinks is cool and passes that "knowledge" onto Schmidt, but it doesn't work at all. Which is actually a good idea, because then the plot gives Schmidt and Jenko an idea of how the other side lived in high school. Schmidt gets in with the cool kids (not so much stereotypically cool as simply hip) while Jenko winds up hanging out with the AP chemistry kids when he needs help to catch up.

The plot involves taking down a new LSD-type drug, but it's mainly there to tell jokes. And tell jokes it does! This has to have one of the highest ratios of humour to runtime in a while. The humour is spread pretty broadly: Gross-out humour, awkward humour, sight gags, Gilligan cuts. Something for everyone. If you like a lot of different kinds of humour, this may be your favourite movie ever. However, one caveat - the theatre was packed with young people that find this stuff funny, and packed theatres with willing laughers make any movie much funnier. Take Bowfinger. Saw it in theatres and had a blast. Saw it on my own ... not so much.

Back to 21 Jump Street. There's not a whole lot of action. A bit near the end, including a car chase that was full of no explosions - a truck carrying highly flammable compressed gas canisters remained unexploded. Then a tanker carrying gasoline remained unexploded, even after being shot multiple times. And finally, a truck carrying chickens in coops ... exploded, raining feathers everywhere. "That's what exploded?!?" the characters cry exasperatedly.

There's a cameo by Johnny Depp (and Peter DeLuise, who was also on the original 21 Jump Street). And there's the occasional Reality Ensues (but mainly for comic reasons). The music's fine, although the 2005 section use "The Real Slim Shady" which was popular around 2001 or so. There's a great cut near the end that has heroic music during a getting ready scene, interspersed with doing chores (they're undercover at Schmidt's parents' place).

I'm not sure whether this is a theatre movie or a Blu-Ray movie. I’ve been comparing it to The Other Guys in terms of humour and action, and I think it's about even. The Other Guys had more action, this has more humour. But since I wasn't looking for or expecting a lot of humour, this one hit my expectations more. So I'll give it Theatre Status.