22 Jump Street *** (R) As movie origins go, this one’s pretty weird, even for Hollywood. 21 Jump Street was a hip, popular TV crime drama - sort of the 1980's version of The Mod Squad, for those of us old enough to have grooved on that one in the late ‘60s. A couple of years ago, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum turned the premise into a present-day cop-buddy comedy version, replete with references to the TV series (including a terrific cameo from Johnny Depp, who’d starred in the original). That pairing of the teenaged nerd and jock bonding years later at the police academy for unlikely success on the force earned enough to spawn this sequel. The title change comes from moving headquarters to the opposite side of the eponymous street.
This one ramps up the self-referential ante by flooding us with comments about how similar the stars’ new assignment is to their last one. Going undercover as students to nail the one who’s making a new, dangerous designer drug. The first was a high school; this time it’s a college. All the inside joke themes from the first are pounded even harder in this one - the fact that both look too old to fit in; role reversals of which partner was cool then and now; the relative suckiness one usually finds among sequels, despite spending more to make them, etc.
Those who liked the first will probably enjoy this one at least as fully. Hill is a reliable comic talent. Tatum, known more for hunkiness than hilarity, is surprisingly funny. Ice Cube again plays the archetypal ranting captain while simultaneously spoofing his role in a nice bit of juggling. The tone ranges mostly from broad to gross, with the plot’s predictability snarkily converted into an asset. Some of the biggest laughs come during the closing credits in an over-the-top sequence setting the table for a slew of possible future sequels and spin-offs. (6/13/14)