Seven years later, they both apply to the police academy and help improve the other's weaknesses. Schmidt assists Jenko with academics and Jenko coaches Schmidt through the physical brutality of boot camp. They graduate and receive rather boring jobs as security in an uneventful city park. There is a montage documenting what little they have to do, which may have been shot on an Arri Alexa camera, as the distant shots of the green in the grass, as well as the contrast with the sky has a hint of pink to the palette and looks awfully digital up on the big screen. Anyway, they get excited when they spot a potential drug deal going down. Jenko, giddy with the prospect of first arrest, mistakenly delivers the line: "Do you want me to beat your dick off?" They find drugs and their suspects bolt. They manage to catch one, but, later, their superior informs them that the charges had to be dropped, because they didn't read the suspect his Miranda rights. They're demoted to a special operations unit located at 21 Jump Street, which is the site of a church.
Sitting in the pews with others in the audience, they listen to Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) regale them with insults: "You some Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus-looking mother-fuckers." He informs them that they're all going undercover to pose as high school students: "Teenage the fuck up." He shows Jenko and Schmidt YouTube footage of a kid going through the stages of a new drug called HFS. "They're teenagers man. They're really stupid, so you should blend right in ... Now, you can see, this kid is white. That means people actually give a shit." Schmidt chimes in, "Sir, I just want to throw right to you that I would give a shit if he was black."
They're assigned to Sagan High School to find the source of the drugs before it breaks containment and goes viral. "Infiltrate the dealers, find the suppliers." He gives them new names Brad and Doug McQuaid. Afterwards, Schmidt prays to Korean Jesus, located behind the pulpit, about the concern he has about going back to high school. As they are playing brothers, Jenko moves into the home of Schmidt's parents, Annie (Caroline Aaron) and David (Joe Chrest). They discuss the various pictures and awards of Schmidt on the wall under the staircase. He points to a questionable photo of himself from his adolescence that displays his unclothed torso. "I look like Fred Savage from The Wonder Years. I could be naked wearing Indian friendship bracelets ... Am I even wearing underwear in this photo? No, because I remember. You know why? Because I told it to a therapist like eight thousand times."
They get ready for the first day of school and Officer Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson Peete from the original series) assigns them a car. Like youthful fools, they run over each other with their new hot ride. At school, they get into an altercation with campus stud Eric Molson (James Franco's younger brother Dave) and Jenko politically-incorrectly punches "little gay, black kid" Juario (Justin Hires). Principal Dadier (Jake M. Johnson from The New Girl) calls them into the office and ends up mixing up their schedules. Mr. Gordon (Chris Parnell) teaches theatre class, where Schmidt is smitten by 18-year-old senior Molly Tracey (Brie Larson, who looks like a younger Maura Tierney) and soaks her for information regarding HFS. In AP chemistry class, teacher Ms. Griggs (Ellie Kemper from Bridesmaids) is hot for Jenko. Schmidt's audition doesn't go well and he cuts out early when he receives a text about procuring drugs. Jenko turns in his pop Quiznos and meets up with Schmidt in the yearbook office with Eric. To make sure they're cool, he forces them to take the drugs in front of him. They unsuccessfully try to vomit them up. Gym coach Mr. Walters (Rob Riggle, recognizable from UCB, SNL and Funny or Die's "Death Hunt") stops them in the halls. They start to trip out and go through the various stages of the drug.
Back at 21 Jump Street, they try to explain their progress, which is unimpressive compared to the other officers. Some of the female officers brag about their results. One of them pokes fun at the boys, "Meanwhile, you two are standing around, finger-popping each other's assholes."
Jenko interrogates fellow AP chemistry students. He gets Zack (Dax Flame) to look into using someone's cell phone as a monitoring device. Jenko decides that he'll stick with the nerds and Schmidt will deal with the cool kids. Captain Dickson warns the undercover officers to never throw any parties. The guys disobey this rule and load up on alcohol and weed for the festivities. Everyone shows up. Jenko steals Eric's phone with the help of Zack and his friends. During a fight with rival school students, they slip the bugged phone back on Eric's person. During the melee, Schmidt realizes he's been benignly stabbed with an ancient artifact. The mood escalates to a fun and lively atmosphere and people begin dancing to LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem." Eric asks Schmidt to be one of his dealers. Schmidt's parents arrive, shut things down and ground the boys.
At the shooting range, Jenko tells Schmidt about bugging Eric's phone. A disappointed Schmidt starts dealing for Eric in a montage set to NWA's "Straight Outta Compton." Jenko hangs with the nerds. At a shoe store, neighbor Phyllis (Geraldine Singer) almost blows Schmidt's cover in front of Eric and his friends. Schmidt asks Molly to the prom. Jenko and the nerds listens in on a conversation at Eric's house through his cell, while Schmidt is in his company and says hurtful things about Jenko.
At 21 Jump Street, the girls inform the boys they continue to make headway. Captain Dickson rips the boys new ones. Jenko informs Schmidt that he overheard a potential deal that is going to take place. Schmidt prepares for the Peter Pan production. Jenko delivers a poem about chemistry in class while dressed in a costume themed specifically for his presentation. As it's the day of the play, Schmidt is dressed as Peter Pan. When the deal is about to go down, the boys realize their car has been booted. They take off in the driver's ed vehicle to the deal site. With a comical bit involving the teacher brake, they accidentally run into one of the dealers on his motorbike while following them. A car chase ensues, which includes Jenko lobbing golf balls with a tennis racket at one of the bad guys. They have to car jack again, and this time it's a powder-pink Volkswagen bug.
They manage to stop most of the villains and hurry back to school. Schmidt rushes on stage and pushes the understudy off. Jenko storms onstage and gets into a fight with Schmidt as they are both hanging from wires midair. Molly is humiliated, the principal expels them and Officer Dickson fires them. While Jenko is moving out of the Schmidt's house, Eric pulls over and orders them to get into his car. You think he's going to kill them, but he ends up giving them guns. Before prom, they do chores, all dressed up in tuxedos.
Jenko and Schmidt arrive with the nerds in a white limo and doves fly away behind them, like Jenko envisioned. Schmidt sees Molly and confesses who he really is to get her to leave and avoid any danger. She's high, though, and doesn't know how to process the information. In a spacious hotel room, Mr. Walters reclines on a couch and reveals himself to be the supplier. Molly shows up and blows the boy's identities, which forces them to drop their guns. Some of henchmen include Domingo (DeRay Davis), as well as Tom Hanson (megastar Johnny Depp from the original series) and Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise, also from the original series), who announce they've been working undercover for the DEA and whip out their guns on Walters and Domingo. The agents are taken down during a shoot-off and, before they die, Hanson admits to his buddy how much he cared about him.
The boys escape and, while running down the hallway, Jenko hilariously throws up on Schmidt. A three-way limo chase ensues (two white, one black, with matching racial passengers). Jenko uses his new found chemistry knowledge to create a covalent-bond in a tequila bottle and throws it into one of the other limos and it explodes. There's a standoff between Mr. Walters and the boys. Before Schmidt shoots the coach in the crotch, he delivers the line: "You peaked in high school, mother-fucker." They recite the Miranda rights together and make their first arrest. The boys share a sweet moment and high-five each other. In a gross-out moment, Walters picks up his severed member with his mouth. As Eric is led away in arrest, Jenko warns him, "They don't serve vegan in jail, bitch." Schmidt apologizes to Molly and they kiss. The bros walk off to 21 Jump Street, where they receive congratulations on a job well done, as well as their next assignment (college!).
Capsule Review
While this comedy isn't laugh-out-loud funny for everyone (the audience was split), it's amusing enough, saved mostly by the brotherly chemistry between Hill and Tatum (who is quite endearing). To its credit, it borrows a property from the TV-archives and, before you know it, has made it its own. While its box-office success and suggestive ending (college!) will probably inspire a sequel somewhere down the road, it has the potential to be better or worse than this mostly average (in an admirable kind-of-way) film.
Box Office Prospects
Everyone was predicting a big weekend for this unassuming comedy that received better than expected reviews. And a big weekend it shall have. As far as longevity, I don't foresee the reviews sustaining it passed a week or two, with a normal drop-off. Around $100M seems likely (give or take $10M). But, then, a good chunk of the audience I saw it with was really into it, so repeat viewings may breathe extra life into it. Who knows. Whatever the case, along with The Vow, this has been a star-making year for Tatum and Winter isn't even over yet. Look out for the G.I. Joe sequel and Magic Mike this summer.
Check out another Movie Spoiler for 21 Jump Street:
0 comments:
Post a Comment