Movie Review: 22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street
Directed by: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller.
Written by: Michael Bacall and Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman & Jonah Hill based on the television series by Patrick Hasburgh & Stephen J. Cannell.
Starring: Jonah Hill (Schmidt), Channing Tatum (Jenko), Peter Stormare (The Ghost), Wyatt Russell (Zook), Amber Stevens (Maya), Jillian Bell (Mercedes), Ice Cube (Captain Dickson), The Lucas Brothers (Keith & Kenny Yang), Nick Offerman (Deputy Chief Hardy), Jimmy Tatro (Rooster).

Does it make it okay to be a stupid, pointless sequel when a movie knows it’s a stupid, pointless sequel and spends much of its running time mocking itself for being a stupid, pointless sequel? In the case of 22 Jump Street, I think the answer is yes. The 2012 original film was a stupid, pointless reboot of a mostly forgotten TV show from the 1980s, which mocked itself for being a stupid, pointless reboot of a mostly forgotten TV from the 1980s – and the results were, for the most part hilarious. The same holds true for its sequel – which knows it’s silly to force the same two characters into essentially the same situation, and hope for the same results, and it knowingly nods and winks at the audience throughout the film for it. This doesn’t make 22 Jump Street some great, original film – but it makes it a lot of fun. Just like the fact that the movie spends much of its time mocking how its two main characters are straight males who are in love with each other, but have to spend much of the time acting as if they’re not. A daring movie would eventually follow through on all the homoerotic subtext that the movie blatantly pokes fun at – but this isn’t that movie.

The movie basically tells the exact same story as the first movie does – with Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) having to go undercover to find the dealer of a new designer drug on a school campus. Because they look too old for high school now – even though the same thing was true two years ago – this time they’re sent to University – even though they look ridiculously too old for that as well. The movie has fun with that – having one character, Mercedes (Jillian Bell), mock Jonah Hill for looking like a 40 year old man as one of their running jokes. Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman, playing the Nick Offerman role at his most Nick Offerman-esque) tells them to do exactly the same thing as they did last time. That’s all anyone wants to see, and that’s their only assignment.

The plot is inconsequential really – what matters in a film like this are the jokes and 22 Jump Street hits on a higher level than most movies of this sort. The jokes in the film are actually funny way more often than they’re not, and in a film without a lot of ambition other than to be funny, that works just fine. The film has a lot of fun by introducing another character – Zook (Wyatt Russell) – who is a lot like Jenko. They have so much in common they are practically clones of each other. Wouldn’t they be perfect together? At least far better than Schmidt and Jenko, who are polar opposites. This subplot in the movie is basically straight out a romantic comedy – and the movie knows this, and pokes knowing fun at it (the way the two of them meet is a hilarious twist on the “Meet Cute” of romantic comedies).

The movie basically works because Hill and Tatum are so good together. When the first movie came out, this was surprising – Tatum was a beefcake actor, who had mainly done a dance movie and some action movies, but could he do comedy? He was hilarious in 21 Jump Street, and proved he could. And he’s hilarious here as well. It isn’t a surprise this time around however – which slightly dulls the impact.

That’s what you could say about the movie as well. The first movie was a pleasant surprise – because it was far better than any movie based on a silly 1980s TV show really had any right to be. 22 Jump Street is far better than any sequel to a movie based on a silly 1980s TV show has any right to be as well – but this time, we aren’t surprised – so while I enjoyed the movie, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first time around.

The movie has had a big opening weekend – which is a pretty good indication that there will be another movie in this franchise – although a large part of me hopes they stop here. The series reminds me of Scream – where the first movie was a pleasant surprise, skewering the horror genre, while still being a horror film, and the second film did an excellent job at skewering horror sequels, while still being a horror sequel. By the third Scream however, the well had run dry. They tried, unsuccessfully, to mine fun out of the closing chapters of trilogies, and it didn’t work. The Jump Street series has now made two movies that are far better than they probably should be. I don’t think they should press their luck any further.

Movie Review: 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street ***
Directed by: Chris Miller & Phil Lord.
Written by: Michael Bacall & Jonah Hill based on the series by Patrick Hasburgh & Stephen J. Canell.
Starring: Jonah Hill (Schmidt), Channing Tatum (Jenko), Brie Larson (Molly Tracey), Dave Franco (Eric Molson), Rob Riggle (Mr. Walters), DeRay Davis (Domingo), Ice Cube (Captain Dickson), Dax Flame (Zack), Chris Parnell (Mr. Gordon), Ellie Kemper (Ms. Griggs), Jake M. Johnson (Principal Dadier), Nick Offerman (Deputy Chief Hardy).

The idea behind 21 Jump Street – that two police officers could go undercover in high school and pass themselves off as students – is ridiculous. One of the main reasons why this update of the 1980s TV show works so well is because the filmmakers know the idea is ridiculous, and they have fun with it. No, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill do not look like high school students anymore – and that’s precisely the point. If more filmmakers would acknowledge just how ridiculous their premises were, perhaps wed get more movies as funny, clever and just flat out entertaining as 21 Jump Street.

When they were high school seniors – 7 years ago – Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) were on opposite ends of the social specter. Jenko was a jock and one of the popular kids. Schmidt was a nerd that Jenko picked on. When they meet years later, at the police academy, they bond because they are still opposites – Jenko excels at all the physical stuff, but is still none too bright, and Hill is still really smart, but doesn’t excel at the physical stuff. But when they screw up their first bust, they get punished by being sent to 21 Jump Street – and revived undercover program from the 1980s – where they will be sent back to high school – shockingly, when they get there, each sees how the other half lives. Schmidt falls in with the popular kids – the drug dealers of a new synthetic drug that recently led to a student’s death – and Jenko is stuck with the science nerds, trying to figure out who is actually making the drugs.

But the plot of the movie is largely inconsequential. This is a movie that mines humor out of its ridiculous premise of having two guys well into their 20s hanging out in high school – and realizing how much things have changed. At this point, we expect Jonah Hill to be funny in his movies – he has numerous great comedic performances on his resume – Superbad, Get Him to the Greek and his creepily hilarious turn in Cyrus. Yet, Hill isn’t quite playing the brash, over compensating fat guy, but rather a really rather shy, sweet guy who always wanted to be popular, but could never crack the code. Which is why, when he becomes popular, he takes it a little too seriously. The surprise part of the tandem is Channing Tatum, an actor I have never really warmed to before. But here, he matches Hill joke for joke, and even brings a degree of sympathy to his character – he expected to be popular once again when he went back to high school, and the fact that he isn’t upsets him more than he wants to admit. Yet, he does find real friends with the science geeks. The supporting cast – James’ younger brother David Franco as the cool kid, drug dealer, Ice Cube as Captain who swears like a Mamet character and especially Brie Larson as the cute, popular girl who falls for Schmidt, are all wonderful.

21 Jump Street plays with its multiple genres throughout – high school comedy, buddy cop action film and comes up with an interesting mix. The fact that they know how silly the movie is becomes the key to why it works so well. 21 Jump Street may not be a great movie, but I had a great time watching it.

Movie Review: Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots ***
Directed by: Chris Miller.
Written by: Brian Lynch & David H. Steinberg & Tom Wheeler & Jon Zack.
Starring: Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws), Zach Galifianakis (Humpty Dumpty), Billy Bob Thornton (Jack), Amy Sedaris (Jill), Constance Marie (Imelda), Guillermo del Toro (Moustache Man / Comandate).

I have for one, hope that the Shrek series has run its course. The first movie was immensely entertaining, the second one less so, but still fine, the third one pretty damn bad, and the fourth one a fitting end to the franchise. The giant green ogre, and his donkey friend, have nothing else to give, and I hope they stay off the screen. But Puss in Boots, a breakout star of the second film, offers new ground for the filmmakers to exploit. Yes, it still takes place in the same fairy tale world as Shrek did, but it allows for different characters to come to the forefront. This first, in what may turn out to be another series, is quite entertaining – better than Shrek has been in a while.

Antonio Banderas once again provides the voice for Puss in Boots, and in this film, it flashes back to his humble origins as an orphan taken in by Imelda. In the orphanage, he bonds with another outcast – Humpty Dumpty (wonderfully voiced by Zach Galifianakis), and the two soon become trouble makers. Puss sees it as innocent fun, and never wants to take things too far. But Humpty is bitter and angry at his treatment – and wants to pull off a major score – robbing the hometown bank. When the job goes wrong, Humpty is caught, and Puss has to go on the run. Years later, they are brought back together – and perhaps now they’ll be able to pull off the job they always wanted – robbing the giant of his golden goose. They may have finally found the magic beans necessary to make the job possible. Along for the ride is Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), an expert cat burglar.

Puss in Boots is a fun, fast paced animated adventure. It has the same style as the Shrek movies – and has the same irreverent spirit of sending up fairy tales. But free of Shrek, and his conflict with his wife’s royal roots – which took up far too much time in the later Shrek movies – this film is more fun. And because Puss in Boots and company are pulling off a heist, more action packed as well. Banderas has always been great voicing Puss, and he finds much help for Galifianakis, who proves to be a natural as Humpty Dumpty, and Salma Hayek – as well as Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris as the evil Jack and Jill.

 
Puss in Boots doesn’t reinvent the wheel here, but it doesn’t really have to. It is a fast paced, animated adventure, with enough clever one liner to make adults laugh, and enough action to keep kids satisfied. No, it doesn’t rise to the level of truly great animated film, but what it does, it does really well.

Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ** ½
Directed By: Phil Lord & Chris Miller.
Written By: Phil Lord & Chris Miller based on the book by Jodi & Ron Barrett.
Starring: Bill Hader (Flint Lockwood), Anna Farris (Sam Sparks), James Caan (Tim Lockwood), Andy Samberg (Baby Brent), Bruce Campbell (Mayor), Mr. T. (Earl Devereaux), Bobb’e J. Thompson (Cal Deverauex), Benjamin Bratt (Manny), Neil Patrick Harris (Steve).

There is a manic energy to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs that is charming for a little while, but then becomes rather exhausting by the end of the film. It is an animated film that children are going to love, as it moves so quickly, and has such wonderful use of color, that they will not help but be entertained - especially if they see the film in 3-D. And even if the adults in the crowd are not going to love the film as much as they love a Pixar movie, the time will pass pleasantly enough. I just wish that the film went just a little bit farther, and was just a little bit better. By the end of the film - and at just over 80 minutes it’s a short one - I was bored.

The movie is about Flint Lockwood (with the voice of Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader), a young man who has been trying to be an inventor ever since he was a little kid. The only person who ever believed in him was his mother, but now that she is dead, his father (James Caan) wants him to go into the family business of selling bait. They live on a small island where the only industry was sardines, but that was before the world realized that sardines are super gross, and stopped buying them. Flint dreams of helping out his small town with one of his inventions, and purely by accident, he seems to have found a way to do it. He has invented a machine that turns water into food, and when the machine accidentally gets shot into the stratosphere, it starts raining food on the town. This draws the attention of the Weather Network, who sends intern Sam Sparks (Anna Farris) to cover the story. She is incredibly smart, and really cute, but feels the need to cover up her intelligence. The Weather Network wants their women cute and perky, with no brains, and so she acts like a simpleton.

Of course, there is a problem with the machine that starts out great, and ends up needing to be stopped by Flint before it destroys everything. Along the way, Flint bonds with his father, romances Sam, and learns to accept himself for who he is. And so does Sam. And pretty much everyone else in the film.

I really enjoyed the opening scenes in the movies, which have a madcap energy to them. The voice cast is universally excellent - Hader is lovable and funny as Flint, and Farris somehow manages to be just as adorable as she is on film. The animation has a strange, retro look to it that fits in wonderfully well. There are some wonderfully inventive animated sequences in the movie - the best one being a snowball fight, where Flint runs around like a videogame character, mowing down whoever gets in his way.

In fact, there really is nothing wrong with the movie itself. What it does, it does fairly well, and the time passes pleasantly enough. The only problem I have is the films last act degenerates a little too much into a series of boring clichés, and chases sequences that do not add to the movie. Sure, the kids will like the movie, and for parents, the time will pass pleasantly enough. But the movie never quite gets to the level of a truly good movie. Its fine, but it should have been better.