Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum bring their infectious comedic chemistry to engulf us for a hilarious good time

Rating: 9/10 (24 September 2017)

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum band together in what appears to be yet another remake of a popular TV show of the same name. After a significant number of failed attempts to bring a televised source material to the big screen in an accurate fashion, it is understandable why people may approach this with low expectations. Against all odds, Hill and Tatum manage to bring their A-game to the table with their feverishly strong comedic appeal to grip us for an insanely hilarious comedic fare. Playing a duo of undercover cops with a diminishing sense of intelligence, these two make an irresistible pair for this devilishly raunchy buddy cop comedy directed by the likes of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller who make a remarkable achievement of paying tribute to the popular source material while taking many liberties that create only a minimal resemblance of the 80s TV show. It is a movie that demands you to prepare for an all-out laugh-out-loud galore. This film follows Schmidt (played by Jonah Hill) and Jenko (played by Channing Tatum), two men reuniting seven years after their high school graduation to attend a local police academy. While their graduation is success, these two prove to be way too amateurish to properly execute their jobs at law enforcement officers after they manage to botch their first arrest. This leads to their boss Deputy Chief Hardy (played by Nick Offerman) to transfer them to, wait for it.....21 Jump Street, an underachieving police department run by the foul-mouthed Captain Dickson (played by Ice Cube) who assigns them on a case that sends them back to high school as undercover cops disguised as students to bust the school's drug dealer who happens to distributing some mind- altering substances. As the duo becomes engulfed in reliving their high school days including partying and school plays, their social life with the fellow students put their jobs in danger.
This movie is not quite devoid of the typical buddy cop formula that has dominated the subgenre for the past few decades. But with the brilliant sleight of hand by the directors Phil Lord and Christoper Miller, a a solidly executed script, and the comedic adrenaline of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum; this movie works astonishingly well. It is funny almost consistently and rarely lets a single moment go to waste, even when the jokes border on the line of distasteful. And each time Hill and Tatum appear on screen, laughter almost immediately dominates the air as their chemistry allows us to relish in each scene. The script effectively blends its raunchy R-rated sex humor with clever messages about high school popularity and friendship, which come to productive use when the two leads get mixed with a crowd of high school cliques. In particularly, Jonah Hill's Schmidt forms a romance with cute blondie named Molly, played by Brie Larson, which comes to his surprise considering his lack of popularity in high school as demonstrated in the opening scene with him and the then-super- popular Jenko. Furthermore, the film also makes effective use of poking fun at high school stereotypes which accounts to some good laughs every now and then. But most importantly, it is the comedic performances by Hill and Tatum that keeps things flowing. And kudos should also go to Ice Cube who brings his foul-mouth, wise-cracking fever to the screen each minute we see him, and Rob Riggle who lets his comedic talent shine nearly every chance he gets. And when the characters finally get the chance to pull their guns out in the climax, viewers are treated with a sweet little cameo.
21 Jump Street is an exciting comedic endeavor that shows that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum make an effective team when tackling the buddy cop genre. The movie is funny, charming, and blisters with seemingly endless comedic fever that will, of course, turn off those alienate by a long line of raunchy humor that comes at almost consistently. If can withstand the crudeness, come along for the ride.