Everything Comedy This Summer Will Be 21 Jump Street's Little Brother

Rating: 7/10 (20 June 2012)

Saw the movie last night at the Arclight in Hollywood. If you enjoy Family Guy, you'll more than likely enjoy the movie. If not, you definitely won't.
From top to bottom, the humor and structure is similar to what you would expect from MacFarlane: lots of cultural references (that figure into the plot), plenty of crude toilet/violent humor (much tamer than Family Guy, though), cutaway gags, and a lot of heart. Even the music has that weird happy-go-lucky Family Guy twist to it.
The characters are performances are what largely keep this movie grounded. Wahlberg does an OK job, but MacFarlane's voice acting and Kunis' performance anchor the film and make you care for the happy ending for these characters.
Surprisingly, the movie has a lot of emotional moments. The problem is that unlike Family Guy's sharp wit, the humor is not nearly as sophisticated or fast, and a lot of zingers fall flat. Overall, it's a good, not great comedy with great dramatic elements, but given the strength of '21 Jump Street,' the writing and pacing of the jokes could have been a lot better.