22 Jump Street

One thing about most comedies is the fact if they are well cast, the premise and script can be mediocre and still be palatable. As with the case of "22 Jump Street", the extreme opposite casting in the title roles made this film easy to watch and even have some fun with.

After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) when both Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) and Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) have them go deep underground at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit in Zook (Wyatt Russell)  on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don't have to just crack the case-- another drug bust in the college, they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Others to round out the cast are Peter Stormare as The Ghost, a drug supplier, Amber Stevens as Maya, Jillian Bell as Mercedes, dorm roomie of Amber, The Lucas Brothers as Keith and Kenny Yang, students at the college, Jimmy Tatro as Rooster, Caroline Aaron as Annie Schmidt, Joe Chrest as David Schmidt, Eddie J. Fernandez as Scarface, The Ghost's henchman, Marc Evan Jackson as Dr. Murphy, Craig Roberts as Spencer, and Rob Riggle as Walters.

It was effectively helmed by directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" '09, "21 Jump Street" '12, "The Lego Movie" '14). These guys are relatively new to the directing scene, but definitely a duo to contend with. A sequel to "The Lego Movie" has already been announced for 2017. This was written by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman based on a story by Bacall and Jonah Hill. "21 Jump Street" was obviously a better cut script wise, being the vehicle allowing us to see how these two extreme opposites met, but with this installment, the premise, as with the original, was fairly ordinary. Truly what makes these films work is the chemistry between Hill and Tatum. They are so different in character, looks, size, and demeanor that it is refreshing to watch them interact. This chemistry is why one would even see this film. It's not quite as funny as the original, but still funny enough to keep you yucking it up. One of the best parts of this film is at the end credits where the film is self-parodying itself in showing just how many sequels this film could have. Very funny stuff.

If you liked "21 Jump Street", you'll like this. There's just enough similarities and differences that it will keep one's attention just enough to make you wonder if we are going to see "23 Jump Street" a couple of years from now.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                              Rated: R                         111mins.