Scatological cinema at its finest

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2012)

"21 Jump St," based - very loosely - on the original series that made the universe and girls the world over aware of Johnny Depp, is a movie that approximately balances genuine low-brow humor with genuine scatology.
Several times I caught myself doubling over in laughter; at least as equal were the number of times I was groaning and practically looking away from the screen in shame and embarrassment that I had just sat through something this crass, crude, and utterly shameless.
Unless you're in a group of bong-hitting, backwards-cap-wearing frat boys - more or less the intended demographic of movies like "21 Jump Street," "The Hangover," and "Old School" - be cautious about who you share this masterpiece with. You might both be permanently damaged. This is not for kids, for sure.
That said, are the good laughs worth the frequent trips to toilet humor? Probably.
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (is that a Southern thing? I cannot figure who would ever name their child Channing; that sounds like the name of a Southern gentleman who should be sipping mint juleps on their plantation house porch) are both good and up to the task. Tatum pulls off comedy very well. Hill is basically playing the kind of role you expect him to play - i.e., anything he's played in the Apatow movies is very similar.
The plot is somewhat insignificant: The "21 Jump St" undercover cop duo of Tatum and Hill (could be a singing a duo, couldn't it?) go undercover in a high school to take down a drug ring. In a twist, Hill, who was supposed to play an undercover geek and Tatum, who was supposed to be the "cool kid/jock" - just as it was originally in high school - get accidentally switched and Hill ends up as the popular guy and Tatum - well, not so much.
So... enjoy this for the occasional laugh and just skip it for about everything else.