A Roller-coaster Ride of Comedy

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2014)

21 Jump Street was a huge surprise of a hit back in 2012, and of course— in this day and age—that means a sequel is on its way. Thankfully, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have returned to the project because it could've otherwise been a total mess. The thing is that Lord and Miller are probably the most ingenuous filmmakers working in the comedy genre right now, always taking the "meta" approach to their films as can be seen by this year's earlier release, The Lego Movie, and now this—a rare example of an outstanding sequel.
Don't get me wrong; if this was a sequel that simply continued Jonah Hill's and Channing Tatum's relationship in another elaborate but more exciting undercover operation, I would've had a hard time seeing how it'd succeed. However, in this case, everyone is fully aware of the "cash-grab, unnecessary sequel" status that's immediately imposed upon the film, and so what do they do? They ride with it. The most famous exemplar in the conversation is the Hangover series, which has been completely lambasted to the point of utter mortification for all those involved. I feel like those two sequels were the butt of the jokes here.
In addition, 22 Jump Street goes one step ahead, says "why not?" and continually parodies the numerous tropes that plague buddy-cop movies and any kind of genre. The dialogue is consistently witty, poking fun at the sheer superficiality of the college environment instead of adopting the douchiness of other college comedies. Obviously—I would say—the most important element of this film has to be the chemistry between Hill and Tatum, which is frankly organic at this point. Both characters feed off of each other, bringing their own vastly differential personalities and style to the table. That is exactly what makes the best of buddy comedies, and what makes the Jump Street series so charming is the sweet "brolationship" between the nerd and jock. Here, it's delivered to amazing comedic effect, sentimentally playing around with their relationship as if it was a romantic one (essentially, the joke is on the idea of "bros for life").
I've said it once and I'll say it again: I have been really impressed with Channing Tatum as of late. He could've come out be a generic and bland pretty boy who starred in the banal action flicks or simpleminded rom-com's—he has done a fair share of those in the past, yes, but his evolution as an actor is quite evident. Tatum's a very smart individual, choosing to display his absolute versatility and range by taking on various genres (proving his comedy chops in one film, giving dramatic weight in another, and then from time to time, taking the fun action movies). Speaking of, I'm really looking forward to seeing his talent shine again in Foxcatcher later this year.
With all that being said, there's one comment to make on this atrocious trend that's been persisting with showing way too much in trailers. This film is immensely guilty of that as well. I still can't believe they had the guts to reveal the true culprit behind the mysterious criminal scheme in the darn trailer. They show a 20-second clip from one of the last scenes in the movie! Whose idea was that, really? The narrative would've been far better if the viewer didn't—you know—expect the twist; I definitely have to discredit this film for that if anything.
On another note, even though the likability of Channing Tatum's more hapless and relatable character in the first one transforms into mere obnoxiousness as he joins the frat boys and accepts his persona as the muscular, good-looking jock, the goodhearted nature of the two's dynamic still survives at the end of the day. Once it's been evaluated, 22 Jump Street is certainly one of the most inventive and exceptional comedy sequels out there, continuing the story while making fun of it. Oh, and wait until you see the end credits sequence that fully trashes the whole idea of a (once-fresh) concept repeating itself exactly throughout an entire series.