21 Jumpstreet (2012)

 

   Ahhh yes. A comedy. Comedies are tricky. Especially really really great ones like this. Ya see while i can explain the plot and mention a few vaguely good things about the movie, if i get to specific i'll  ruin some of the best jokes. For example i can tell you that there are a lot of jokes about how much highscool stereotypes have changed, but if i tell you how the film approaches is it i ruin the joke and you  won't enjoy the movie as much. 


   And that's not something i'm willing  to do, becuase this movie is absolutely hilarious. The title comes from the 1980's television show, and this movie poses itself as a sequel to that show. 21 Jumpstreet is an address where a new breed of undercover cops is being formed, younger cops who look like highschool students. They go undercover in, you guessed it, highschools to try and stop crimes that would be difficult for people who can't get in close. Such is the case in  this movie, only a few short years out of graduating highschool themselves Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill graduate police academy in hope of glory for doing the right thing, and upon making their first real arrest one of them fails too catch a crook, while the other fails to read out the Miranda Rights. I'll let you guess whose who. Since the two are still rookies the chief decides they'd be perfect for the Jumpstreet program, which requires them to look and act like highschool students. They report to their new captain played by Ice Cube and are sent to track down the suppliers of a new synthetic drug that has rather lethal side effects if mis- used.


   And that's pretty much it, the movie is funny as all hell. And for a comedy like this it has some really out there jokes that seem like extreme risks but totally work. I attribute a lot of this to the two leads, carrying every scene with grace, and Jonah Hill's hand behind the writing elevates the often groan worthy jokes to genuine moments of comedic genius.


Beyond that i can't say much just go see it, it doesn't rely heavily on the original but  fans will see a few jokes spiced in here or there. A-.