22 Jump Street

2014 / USA / 112 minutes
Director:  Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Screenplay:  Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman, from a story by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall, based on the television series 21 Jump Street
Starring:  Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormare, Ice Cube, Amber Williams
Genre:  Comedy, action

This movie is the sequel to the 2012 film 21 Jump Street which itself was based on the 1980s television series.  This time round cops Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) are assigned to go undercover as college students to locate the suppliers of a new synthetic drug called "WHY PHY" which caused the death of a student.  While Jenko quickly befriends the local jocks, causing a rift between him and Schmidt who falls for art major Maya (Williams).

The film is hugely entertaining.  Much of the humour is very self-referential about being a sequel to a successful movie.  The filmmakers know the rules of a sequel  The audience knows the rules of a sequel and the filmmakers know that they know.  There are a lot of jokes about the fact that it's "exactly the same as last time" but with a bigger budget.  The secret to the film's humour and heart is the genuine chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum whose bromantic relationship and pitch perfect comic timing is genuinely winning.

The movie's humour is lowbrow and the material is dumb, but it's smart enough to play with it.  It's perfect for a fun movie night.