a solid summer comedy

Rating: 6/10 (29 June 2014)

A torrid weekend, the best recreation is a cinema getaway in the local multiplex, the options are paltry, having no slightest interest in the fourth TRANSFORMERS juggernaut, I have to choose between two sequels, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 or this one, it is a tough choice, I enjoyed HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010, 8/10) thoroughly, but due to a recent impassivity towards animations, eventually I opt for the latter albeit I have yet watched its predecessor, a Hollywood comedy might be the elixir to quench the summer lethargy.
After their debut animation CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009), director duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller went in for revive the popular 80s undercover policemen series 21 JUMP STREET (1987-1991) on the big screen, and it was a box-office hoot in 2012, two years later, the sequel arrives, the odd pair Hill and Tatum go to college this time!
School days are mostly stupid in retrospect, drugs, parties, sports and hormone-driven sex adventures, one must be glad to finally get over with them, thus, understandably the main arc of the story is the à la mode bromance between Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), conceivably an impending fissure is magnified by Jenko's jock popularity in the fraternity and Schmidt's contrasting nerdy awkwardness. The investigation to unearth the WhyPhy (a new campus- permeating drug) dealer are considerably short-circuited by incessant japes and bro-bonding- or-clashing set pieces which are functionally devised without resorting to the low-end and cringe-worthy lavatorial jokes. A time-tested one is the classic unintentionally sleeping with your boss' daughter and the romance benefit falls upon on Schmidt, he meets the art student Maya (Stevens) and competently justifies "nerds are the new sexy", until a raging Ice Cube stereotypically break them up. Meanwhile Jenko has a more conventional male-bonding with fellow football jock Zook (Russell) with an unspecified undertone comes close to a fantasy for more trendy interest, along with many bold gay-related insinuations.
It is scintillating to witness a not-over-stagy let-go-and-reunite plot mingles with two partners certainly care for each other where sexuality is irrelevant. The natural bond is authentic, which is the only thing matters. Tatum grandstands in the mandatory action sequences with Hill's rib- tickling unwieldiness, but villains are carelessly characterized, up to the moment when they fall prey to utter triviality and deprive of any sense of being other than their default duty.
During the ending-credits, a deluge of mock-sequels pokes fun of industry's franchise over- exploitation, and this year earlier, the Lord-Miller pair has already stunned the world with their money-making bulldozer THE LEGO MOVIE (2014), a new profitable product-line awaits a follow-up, so with two smash golden bowls in their hands, 23 JUMP STREET might come to its fruition behind the usual two-year schedule, or perhaps 22 is also a wonderful number to leave our perky memory unsoiled.