Brilliantly Funny Comedy

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2014)

21 Jump Street is apparently something of a remake of the 1987 TV series starring Johnny Depp and Dustin Nguyen (it's a couple of years before my time so I haven't seen it yet to compare the two) which features underachieving policemen Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) who are assigned the task of posing as high school students in an undercover operation to bring down a drugs ring, leading the pair into a whole host of hilarious situations.
Despite the juvenile nature that you'd typically expect from this film (not normally something I particularly enjoy) I thought this film was hilarious. Some of the jokes were very base but these were fairly outnumbered by some genuine good humour. Of course the whole film borders on the silly and far-fetched throughout but it never pretends to be anything other than just that, and rarely feels like it's trying too hard for audience laughs. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are a dream comedy duo in this: their differences in acting styles and personalities are played up in stereotypes which make for some real fun, especially as the stereotypical American high school is a strong factor. Dave Franco plays the shifty popular kid and offers an enjoyable performance that occasionally stands up to the humour of Tatum and Hill, although the biggest laughs from a more minor character come from Ice Cube, the exasperated chief at the 21 Jump Street Facility. There's a nice cameo appearance from the original 21 Jump Street-ers Johhny Depp and Dustin Nguyen too.
If you're looking for a brilliantly funny comedy that's full of light- hearted silliness then it doesn't get much funnier than this. Despite being a little apprehensive I absolutely cracked up at this film and can't wait to see if the sequel lives up to the laugh out loud humour in this.