Very funny in parts but didn't sustain it

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2012)

21 Jump Street is funny in parts but doesn't keep a high quality of laughs throughout.
The story (based very loosely on the old TV series) is about two young cops who went to the same school but only became friends when they are in the police academy. Due to their youthful looks and poor policing skills they are assigned to an undercover operation trying to stop the supply of a new drug in a high school.
Due to a mix up in their cover names the cop who was nerdy at school ends up hanging out with the "cool kids" and vice versa. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are well cast as the odd couple of cops who thereby end up learning a lot about friendship by the time the movie ends. They are also Executive Producers by the way.
The movie is unashamedly crude in the spirit of American Pie and Superbad and that is not a criticism even if I found the bad language a bit tiresome by the end.
There are a constant stream of jokes and funny situations through the movie but overall I thought that not enough of them were funny enough to justify giving it a high rating. There have been so many US high school comedies that a movie really has to be something special to stand out from the crowd.