Film: 22 Jump
Street (2014)
Stars: Jonah
Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormare, Ice Cube, Amber Stevens, Jillian Bell,
Nick Offerman
Director: Phil
Lord and Christopher Miller
Oscar History: No
nominations
Snap Judgment
Ranking: 3/5 stars
(Spoilers Ahead) Hill
and Tatum, in real life in their thirties, are sent back to college in this
hilarious follow-up to the original 21
Jump Street. Once again,
they’re undercover partners, but they’ve now become complete bro’s for life. One of the fascinating things about the
post Knocked Up period of cinema has
been the bro-nature of films that have come out, ranging from the horrifying
(most anything Adam Sandler has done in this avenue) to the sublime (how good
was I Love You Man, and why can’t
someone give Jason Segel something truly brilliant again?). 22
Jump Street has plenty of homo-centric overtones (the jokes about how Hill’s Schmidt and Tatum’s Jenko are a couple occasionally run a bit flat, but
for the most part are solid hits), but at the center is a showcase of how your
best friend can define even the most mundane aspects of yourself.
The film works best when it isn’t thinking too hard-you
almost don’t want there to be a plot (and by-and-large, there isn’t one), but
instead just a series of one-liners and gags. Tatum is the better of the two leads, in that he is more
effortless as Jenko, though at this point can Channing Tatum do no wrong? Honestly-between Jump Street, Magic Mike, and that insanely funny cameo in This is the End, he’s proven to be one
of the most charming leading men in comedy working today. I’m thrilled to see exactly what
happens when he turns to straight drama later this year in Foxcatcher, but he’s proven himself to be a truly terrific movie
star in the past few years.
Ditto Jonah Hill, who obviously had comedic chops but has
also proven that he takes his career very seriously. He’s stepped up his game considerably since Moneyball (no more Sitters, but now just smart comedies, choice voice work, and two
Oscar-nominated turns in Best Picture nominees).
Again, he shows his work a little bit too much here (he’s not as
effortless onscreen as Tatum, and needs to work on that though Wolf of Wall Street was a strong start),
but when he gets a great scene partner he elevates the movie. While grand whenever he and Tatum are
onscreen, he’s even better opposite snarky, nasty Jillian Bell, who plays his
girlfriends' enigmatic roommate.
Bell’s entire on-screen persona is brilliant (she’s the clear standout
of the supporting cast), not least of which is because her schtick is
persistently mocking Hill for looking so old when in fact she’s almost exactly
his age in real life (Bell, best known for her work on the sitcom Workaholics, could be in for a truly
great year as she’s finished production on her second Paul Thomas Anderson film
due out later this year).
The film occasionally gets a bit heavy-handed and there are
stories that don’t really go anywhere. Did anyone else feel like Wyatt
Russell’s Zook was going to end up in love with Tatum’s Jenko at the end of the
film? I feel like something got cut on the editing floor on that one, and I think it's about damn time we have a bromance between a gay guy and a straight guy (seriously-straight dudes have gay friends, Hollywood), but
by-and-large this is a sweet, wonderful delight worthy of the original
film. If all sequels were this
light, we’d have no reason to complain.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Are you equally as smitten with the
latest Hill/Tatum mashup? Are you
hoping for a 23 Jump Street? Where do you see Jillian Bell’s career
going? Share in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment