Movie Monday: 21 Jump Street

I'm too young to have seen the original 21 Jump Street on television, but I saw the first season on DVD way back in high school.  (What can I say?  I've been a Johnny Depp fan since Edward Scissorhands.)  I was excited for the new movie, and even went to see it in theaters as a birthday present to myself.  I saw it again this Sunday, with my sister, renting it from the local Redbox.

And I still liked it!  The kids were asleep, we had fresh pumpkin brownies, and it was so nice to watch something that wasn't Spongebob Squarepants.  (Nickelodeon, why do you play the same episodes over and over again?)

21 Jump Street is a pretty straightforward action-comedy.  Janko (Channing Tatum) and Schmitt (Jonah Hill) weren't friends in high school, but they became buds in the police academy.  Janko was good at the physical stuff; Schmitt at the mental.  Now, after a failed drug bust, they're back in high school trying to stop a drug ring from spreading.

Not all of the humor is to my taste, but 21 Jump Street made me laugh a lot.  Tatum and Hill have great timing and chemistry.  In addition to pretty funny - and self-aware - dialogue, there are lots of physical gags.  Keep an eye out for the guys maneuvering around a couch in the climatic shoot-out.  Moving away from drama for comedy in the reboot was a good choice.

I'm not so big on the romantic storyline.  Schmitt ends up having a bit of a thing with Molly (Brie Larson), although it's more flirting on the phone than anything physical.  It's still a grown guy hitting on an underage girl under false pretenses.  It's skeevy.  (Given less screen time is Ellie Kemper as a teacher with a crush on Tatum's character, which fortunately goes nowhere.)

Basically, I'm glad they're making a sequel.  21 Jump Street is a fun movie and I'm ready to see the guys go to college.