22 Jump Street

Stay in School

‘’Ladies, nobody gave a shit about the Jump street Reboot, but you got lucky’’ informs Deputy Police Chief Hardy while briefing his bone headed detectives Schmitt and Jenko at the start of the sequel to buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street, imaginatively entitled – wait for it – 22 Jump Street.

Chief Hardy must be a glass half empty type of fellow because though a reboot of an 80’s television series about fresh-faced police investigating youth related crimes had no right to work in 2012, somehow it did, becoming one of the sleeper hits of the year and paving the way for another round of goofiness with guns (and a bacon machine).

Of course Chief Hardy’s slant-eyebrow, self-awareness is part of 22 Jump Street’s running joke that it shouldn’t really be here and watching the film you get the feeling that all involved are throwing a large amount of caution to the wind and seeing, with a sly wink, just how far their luck will stretch.  It’s a gamble, but the intentional lack of pretention makes the film more engaging, giving allowance for more stupid stuff to happen and adding an extra layer to the script’s satirical take on the genre’s many clichés.

With only a single digit separating prequel and sequel titles, it’s obvious directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller aren’t aiming for much of an overhaul in the overall approach from last time. In fact both Jump Street films are for all intents and purposes the same movie, featuring the exact same heavily ad-libbed comedy style, excessive explosions and more or less the exact same plot. If the general idea still hasn’t sunk in after ten minutes into 22 Jump Street, Ice Cube’s Captain Dickinson is there to hammer it home: ‘Just do the same as last time!’ he barks. There’s a good chance then that if you weren’t fond of the first entry, the second will do little to re-direct your opinion.

Once again the task given to Schmitt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) is to find the supplier of a new drug which has caused the recent death of a student, though this time around they are assigned as undercover cops at a college instead of a high school. Once again the two spend most of their time being rubbish detectives, instead focusing their efforts in making up for the past failures of their younger selves, whether it’s Schmitt’s lack of success with the ladies or Jenko’s missed opportunity to become a star football player.

Though there’s a potent sense of déjà vu, none of the repetition in plot matters because quite easily the best thing about 22 Jump Street is the interplay between Tatum and Hill.  Something of a new age Laurel and Hardy the two actors are a real treat to watch as they bounce off each other, both literally and figuratively, getting into scrapes and japes on and off campus; think lecture humiliations, society initiation rituals and spring break shenanigans.

The comedy is loud and obnoxious, but the timing of both actors is absolutely spot on with several memorable scenes, including one stand out in particular where Hill demonstrates his improv genius when his character is forced into a spoken word performance. Tatum meanwhile shows he has an instinctual understanding of slapstick through Jenko – the perfect foil for Hill’s clumpier, less agile Schmitt.

In addition, a stone faced Jillian Bell is great as an awkwardly suspicious student Mercedes and Ice Cube, exhibiting an impressive perma-scowl that would give Mr. T a run for his money, is hilarious, eating up every scene he occupies as Captain Dickinson – a man it appears, it would be wise not to invite to your buffet.

The film dips about two thirds through as we come to the inevitable odd male couple relationship crisis, with Jenko coming to realise that Schmitt may be holding him back especially after he becomes oppressively sensitive to the suggestion that they should ‘investigate separately’ for a while. It’s true that this comedic arc has been worn thin, especially for Hill who has played similar characters for the majority of his roles sinceSuperbad, but the lulls during the emotional beats are saved by the laughs still coming thick and fast, pulling the film from boggy convention to an outrageous action filled finale.

As we’ve already seen this year with the worthwhile, but disappointingly messyAnchorman 2, comedy sequels are tough to get right, especially when there is a mass of over-hype surrounding them.  22 Jump Street is a film that has benefitted from the half obscurity of its forebear, which has taken the pressure off and allowed the creators to take chances and just roll with it. The result is a movie that doesn’t break the mould, or aim to, but offers solid gold performances and is just down right fun for most of the 112 minute runtime.

Ironically then, what started out as a bit of a joke has shaped into one of the best comedies this year. Therefore it’s slightly disappointing when 22 Jump Street’s glorious end credit sequence makes it oh so very clear that there definitely won’t be another entry, because this is one series that has the potential to run and run.

As long as nobody gives a shit.