21 Jump Street [2012]
Directed by: Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Written by: Michael Bacall
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Ellie Kemper, Rob Riggle
21 Jump Street, the funniest film of 2012 so far, is a present-day retelling of that homonymous 80’s TV series, which was more of a serious drama. This meta action-comedy stars Academy-Award nominee Jonah Hill (sounds weird, huh?) and Channing Tatum, while the original show kick-started Johnny Depp’s career. He makes a cameo here; your appreciation of his work will determine if you enjoy that scene (guess where I stand). 21JS is not entirely consistent and some of its jokes are cheap, but what matters is that it delivers many, many big laughs.
The cast is exceptionally good; Ice Cube is a scene-stealer and Channing Tatum shows impeccable comedic skills. The ludicrous, haphazard climactic scene seems like it was written by a 10-year old (have I said that before?) and nearly spoils what Lord, Miller and Bacall had been successfully building until that point. Thankfully, they knew just how to bring the movie to an ending that, at the same time, brought some closure and left the door open for a sequel. Oh, one last thing: the visual effects suck, but it really doesn’t matter. This is not one of those films.
I’ve just recently got a hold of this one Fernando. Hopefully I can get to it soon. Nice write-up bro.
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Thank you, Mark! It’s not perfect, but it is pretty funny. Tatum and Ice Cube are great.
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Very silly but nonetheless hilarious entertainment. I loved this movie. It’s definitely one of the greater (if not the greatest) comedy in of 2012 so far. Ice Cube was soo funny. Nice review.
P.S.: When did Johnny Depp appear? I never caught his cameo…
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Agree, not perfect but still the best comedy of the year so far (I really want to see Ted!)
And are you serious? He’s in disguise at first but then he takes off his mask and it’s pretty evident that it’s Johnny Depp.
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I actually WAS serious. I looked the scene back up on YouTube (one of the more memorable scenes in the movie, for me) and I have no clue how on earth I missed his appearance.
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Hahaha, it happens.
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Great review Fernando; I completely agree. It’s by far the funniest film of the year. I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed Ted, even though I was expecting to love the latter.
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Thanks Amy! Ted hasn’t opened over here so I still need to see that one but, so far, 21JS has been the funniest.
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Really liked this movie, Depp’s cameo was probably the best work he did in years. I found American Reunion to be slightly funnier than this one, but so far 21JS is my second favorite comedy of 2012.
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Thanks Sati! Glad you enjoyed it!
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I really liked, almost loved this movie. It was one of thoses – while flawed – was just soo funny that I laughed throughout the entire movie for the most part. Great review.
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Thanks Alec! I agree 🙂
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Fernando, after Ted I would say this was the funniest film that I saw in 2012 on the big screen. This film really caught me by surprise who knew that Hill and Tatum would be a great comedic pair? sweet review.
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Thanks, man! It took me by surprise as well. They’re great as a comedic duo, but I think Tatum may have just outshone Hill a bit. A very funny movie and, as I haven’t seen Ted yet, the funniest in the year so far.
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