21 Jump Street (2012)

Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller | 109 minutes | action, comedy, crime | Actors: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Ice Cube, Dax Flame, Chris Parnell, Ellie Kemper, Jake M. Johnson, Nick Offerman, Holly Robinson Peete, Johnny Pemberton, Stanley Wong, Justin Hires, Brett Lapeyrouse, Lindsey Broad, Caroline Aaron, Joe Chrest, Geraldine Singer, Dakota Johnson

Between 1987 and 1991, the television viewing public was treated to the series “21 Jump Street”. With over a hundred episodes in five seasons, this TV series, produced by Steven J. Cannell Productions (known for the popular “The A-Team”), was fairly successful. The leading role was played by the then still young teen idol Johnny Depp. He played the role of Officer Tom Hanson for four seasons. More than fifteen years after the first episode saw the light in the United States, the comedy film ’21 Jump Street’ pays tribute to this series.

21 Jump Street is the name of a police academy where young officers go to receive an undercover assignment. In the film of the same name, the two agents Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are sent to this academy. Schmidt and Jenko became friends during their training for the simple reason that they complement each other’s flaws. The fat Schmidt is not physically a hero, but on the other hand, he is very smart. He helps the strong, broad Jenko with his theory subjects, while Jenko in turn tries to discipline Schmidt. However, this does not always lead to the desired result and once the two are police officers, they fail to actually catch crooks. After screwing up an assignment, they are sent to 21 Jump Street for punishment, where they are assigned as an undercover cop at a high school to find out who the supplier is of a new and extremely dangerous drug strain.

It goes without saying that the scenario with the two opposites Jenko and Schmidt can provide enough humor. However, it only gets really fun when it turns out that the school they end up at is completely opposite to the average high school.
This means that the popular people are the nerds and that tough guys like Jenko are looked down upon. When Jenko and Schmidt’s rosters are accidentally flipped, the hilarity is complete. The scenes where Jenko is toiling in chemistry class and Schmidt is embarrassing in athletics and theater classes may be predictable, but that doesn’t make them any less funny. In the end, it’s bumbling Schmidt who becomes popular while Jenko has to deal with the lesser gods of the school out of misery.

’21 Jump Street’ has no shortage of humor and although the film is not equally funny from start to finish, the later scenes are also of a good standard. Wild car chases are nicely over the top portrayed so it doesn’t feel too forced. There is also plenty of chemistry between Jenko and Schmidt. Jonah Hill has proven himself in a comedy many times (think of his roles in ‘Get Him to the Greek’ and ‘Superbad’) and he is perfect for the role of the nerdy yet funny Schmidt. Ice Cube has a nice supporting role as the screaming officer Dickson, the head of 21 Jump Street, who tries to provide the duo with advice. And towards the end there is even a very small role for Johnny Depp.

’21 Jump Street’ has more than enough to offer for a wide audience. The humor succeeds and the film gets away with some predictable, clichéd scenes towards the end that few comedies seem to escape. For the safety of society, it might be a good thing that the average cop takes his job a little more seriously than the crazy duo of Schmidt and Jenko. On the silver screen, however, these ‘agents’ certainly stand their ground.