22 Jump Street: Skewering Sequels

I flew to Geneva this week, which means I got to watch a ton of in-flight movies and catch up on the films that slipped by me in theaters in early 2014. To kick things off, let's discuss 22 Jump Street. 

When I saw 21 Jump Street two years ago, I was pleasantly surprised. I had been expecting a hopeless reboot, and instead got a solidly funny movie that knew how to mock itself while also making full use of its comic talent. Sequels are always a dangerous proposition, but 22 Jump Street continues in the footsteps of its predecessor, as a self-satirizing, over-the-top, gag factory of a movie with two very likeable leads at the helm.

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill reprise their roles as Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, the incompetent yet bizarrely successful duo at the heart of the Jump Street undercover police program. After their high school shenanigans in the last film, they have been promoted to college, where they are posing as freshmen to find the supplier of a new drug called WHYPHY. The differences between the smart but socially awkward Schmidt and dumb but charismatic jock Jenko quickly separate them in the college social structure and threaten to tear the duo apart. You can watch the movie to see whether or not their friendship stands up to the test (though I bet you can figure out the answer to that already).

There isn't much to say about the plot; it's all pretty old hat by now. But the movie is bursting with jokes about sequels and bloated budgets with nothing to show for it that make it clear they understand the audience's preconceived notions. Acknowledging the failings of sequels only makes this movie funnier and it is a two-hour mindlessly entertaining romp. My favorite sequence was a two-second scene where the duo drive past the Bernard Hill Centre of Media Studies as the score suddenly shifts to a variation on the Benny Hill theme song. It is such a throwaway gag yet highlights the filmmakers desire to pack this movie with as many hilarious moments as possible.

The cast is great - Hill and Tatum continue to play wonderfully off of each other, but the addition of Jillian Bell and Amber Stevens in key roles considerably enlivens the proceedings. Ice Cube is particularly scene-stealing as the duo's boss, Captain Dickson, and the whole movie is just brimming with a sense of fun. Ultimately, 22 Jump Street is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously at all, which is why it is a perfect sequel.