an action packed comedy full of lowbrow humor and hilarious performances

Rating: 9/10 (16 March 2012)

In a list of popular funny men currently working in Hollywood, Jonah Hill would have to rank somewhere pretty high up the list. With "Knocked Up," "Superbad," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Funny People," and "Get Him to the Greek" all under his belt (as well as an Oscar nomination for a serious role in "Moneyball") Hill is easily one of the most demanded comedy actors in the business. And he has just added another fantastic film to that resume.
But unlike the previously mentioned films which included another comic actor as either the lead or supporting performer to Hill (Seth Rogen multiple times, Michael Cera, Bill Hader, Jason Segel, Adam Sandler, Russell Brand), his new film, "21 Jump Street," co-stars Channing Tatum. Tatum is more likely to be to be the star of your high school sister's magazine pictures hung up in her locker than the star of one of your favorite movies, but that may have changed with this new flick.
Hill and Tatum team up to play Schmidt and Jenko, two young and unaccomplished police officers who get their chance to finally make a name for themselves when they go undercover in a high school to bust a drug ring. Enrolled in school as brothers Doug and Brad, Schmidt and Jenko find that high school has changed a lot in seven years. When Schmidt and Jenko had originally attended high school, Schmidt was the nerd and Jenko the cool prom king/jock. Now, returning undercover, they have a role reversal when Schmidt's Doug finds tons of popularity with the cool kids and Jenko's Brad struggles to be cool and fit in. This, obviously, brings up a bit of conflict in the relationship of these best friends as Schmidt starts letting his cool label get to his head, but that is just a small part of this film's story.
Created as a film based on a TV series (the 1987 series starring Johnny Depp), the story is more of a new imagining of the series for film than bringing the television series to the big screen. Schmidt and Jenko are all new characters, and the only similarity with the TV series is the premise and a very hilarious cameo. The film is a work of its own, the story written by Hill and Michael Bacall and the screenplay written by Bacall. Bacall is known for his screenplay for "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and you can imagine the style of comedy in "21 Jump Street" if you have seen that film. Couple this with the director choices of Phil Lord and Chris Miller who teamed up for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and TV's "Clone High," and this film was made to succeed.
And succeed it does. "21 Jump Street" is the most clever and witty comedy to come to theaters since "Scott Pilgrim" or "The Hangover." This is a result of a strong series of ingredients that mix together to create something truly memorable and laughable. The writing is quick and witty, the story is fun and designed for hilarious scenarios, the film does not shy away from gross out and mature humor, and, most of all, the chemistry between Hill and Tatum as the two leads is brilliant.
Read the end of the review (IMDb form to short) for "21 Jump Street" at http://custodianfilmcritic.com/21-jump-street/