S.M.A.R.T. (Social Media Archive of Reviewed Theater) vol. 4 – 22 Jump Street

SCHMOES KNOWS REVIEW

CHRIS STUCKMANN REVIEW

CINEFLIX REVIEW

JEREMY JAHNS REVIEW

WHAT THE FLICK?! REVIEW

DOUBLE TOASTED REVIEW

THE REEL REJECTS REVIEW

Movie Review: “22 Jump Street”

22 Jump Street
Rated R
Columbia Pictures
“B -”
Directed by: Chris Miller & Phil Lord

It’s “FUNNNNN-EEEE”. But not as funny as it could be.

The problem with 22 Jump Street ironically….is that it TRIES TOO HARD TO NOT TAKE ITSELF SERIOUSLY. You know those critiques where the reviewers are all enthused? They wax poetic about how “fun” a movie is? Or how much of a “pleasant surprise” it is? Or the infamous, “You know, the cast just went out there and let things come naturally! The charm is that they didn’t take themselves too seriously.”

Well, charm can be two-sided. It can be pleasant and disarming, or it can be like Eddie Haskell from iconic, black and white TV show “Leave It To Beaver”. When Eddie would say charming stuff to his friend’s Wally’s mother with a wide smile, you just pictured a split-shot of him doing a line of coke or purposely hitting a cat that wandered into his path on a busy street. Translation? You KNEW it was all crap.

22 Jump Street tries to remind us throughout the almost two hour (laughter)piece that is ALSO full of it…..but it doesn’t need to. 22 Jump Street is like the guy that tells you a funny joke, and as you’re laughing insists on explaining it. If I didn’t get it….I wouldn’t have laughed.

21 Jump Street’s sequel goes to great length to remind us that it is….a sequel. All the way to the ineffectual point of giving the (EXACT SAME PLOT) with the trivial exception of the officers going undercover in college, instead of high school. “22”. We “get it”. Then film then goes out of its way to focus on Schmidt’s (Hill) “bromance” with Jenko (Tatum). There is a scene where they go to counseling to work out the problems in their “bromance”. There is a scene where Schmidt is jealous of a new college buddy Jenko meets. They argue about it. We “get” it. And finally, there is a character who repeatedly makes jokes about Jonah Hill not looking young enough to be a college student. It was funny once. The character does it upwards of ten, squirm-inducing times. We “get” it.

By now, you may be thinking, “Sounds like it’s good enough to wait on it coming to my area Wal-Mart’s Red Box machine.” Not so fast. As stated earlier, 22 Jump Street “IS” funny. But your expectations may have to be lowered just a bit. “19” Jump Street. Maybe, “17”. The reason 21 Jump Street resonated with the public, was because their expectations were placed on a blank slate. No one could predict that a defunct, 90’s FOX network TV show could be modified to fit the format of a 2010-era action-comedy. Then again…no one could predict that the man who wrote “F%&$ Tha Police” would be playing police Captain twenty years later. Ice Cube steals this movie, the same way the end credit scenes will steal your desire to ponder what “23 Jump Street” would be like. Aside from our favorite rapper-turned-actor’s show-stealing sequences, Jonah Hill’s ability to make you laugh and feel sorry for him is unique and commendable. Chopping the length of the film to the former industry standard of one hour, thirty minutes might have helped to smooth out some of the dead spots, but 22 Jump Street is the kind of film to go see after a good day at work. It won’t make it worse at all, but it could make it slightly better.