These days Hollywood seems obsessed with remaking either popular older films or once popular TV shows of yesteryear. The results are almost always lackluster, and the entire exercise seems rather lazy and uninspired. But every now and then they hit a home run, taking something that seems downright inappropriate for big screen fare and breathing new life into it. The latest attempt is 21 JUMP STREET, based ever-so-loosely on the Johnny Depp television vehicle from 1987-1991.

Opening a few years back from present day (2005 I believe), our film introduces us to Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum), two high school kids as different as can be. Schmidt is an Eminem wannabe, slightly overweight and sporting braces, and more awkward with the ladies than most guys his age should be. Jenko is a cocky jock, dumb as can be, and full of confidence and entitlement. When Jenko is told by the school he can’t attend prom because of his poor grades, he takes it hard. Schmidt, despite being regularly tortured by Jenko, feels his pain, as the girl he’s infatuated with rudely tells him there’s no way she’d go to prom with the likes of him. Cut to present day, and both Schmidt and Jenko, far removed from their high school days, are now training to be cops. They inadvertently become buddies during the various tests they have to take, and pass together becoming partners. Their first assignment is being bicycle cops, not exactly the excitement either of them hoped for, but they find themselves busting a group of bikers for holding drugs. It’s a confidence booster that quickly gets deflated when their police chief (Nick Offerman) tells them they forgot to read the criminal his Miranda rights. As a result of their stupidity, the chief assigns them to a newly resurrected police program that calls for them to go undercover to infiltrate a high school drug ring. Schmidt initially dislikes the idea of “going back” to high school, as his former student days were filled with regret, whereas Jenko sees it as an exciting opportunity to relive his more glorious moments. What they both find is things have changed, and now each of them is seeing a big time role reversal in the way they fit in. Upon discovering the drug problem running rampant in the school, Schmidt and Jenko do their best to uncover who is responsible, and hope to bring them to justice before their cover gets blown.

While 21 JUMP STREET shares the name and basic premise of the original TV show, the tone of the film is anything but similar. Hill and co-writer Michael Bacall go straight for laughs, making a somewhat farcical but fun comedy that will have the audience consistently howling. Hill has even stated he wanted to make BAD BOYS meets a John Hughes movie, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. Personally, I found the end result quite entertaining. They very smartly acknowledge early on the silliness of trying to update an old TV show, as Nick Offerman gives a thinly-veiled monologue talking about the laziness of reviving old police programs – just replace “police” with “TV” and you’ll get the joke immediately. While this 21 JUMP STREET is not necessarily a brilliant production, it is a really fun ride at the movies.

All the conventions are there, cops going undercover and doing things to compromise their mission, car chases, partners betraying one another, going a little too deep… there’s literally no familiar story element left out, but it’s all played so funny that you don’t mind the conventional aspect of the script. One of the other reasons it works is the unlikely chemistry of Hill and Tatum, who play well off each other and those around them. Hill obviously is no stranger to comedy, and has transitioned well into a leading man in comedic fare. Tatum stretches out here from what audiences are used to seeing him do, and gets equal opportunity to play the straight man to Hill’s comedy, or at times goes really broad with his own comedic scenes – it’s a career wake up call for the normally-serious actor, showing he’s capable of much more than what we’re familiar with. Sometimes a perfect duo can make a film work despite its shortcomings. The supporting cast is good too, with Brie Larson playing a believable and interesting romantic interest for Hill, Dave Franco playing a modern day hippie drug dealer, the great Rob Riggle as a smarmy coach, Ice Cube as the always-angry undercover captain, and Jake Johnson as the stressed-out school principal. There’s also fun small parts played by THE OFFICE’s Ellie Kempler (as a horny teacher enamored with Tatum) and SNL alum Chris Parnell (as the beaten down drama teacher).

This is a movie that multiple age groups will enjoy, though folks close to my generation will likely be most satisfied with. High school kids today probably don’t remember or care much about the original series, so the title is ancillary at best, though people who do remember it will discover a few treats along the way as the story unfolds. While this is hardly the same type of storytelling as the show, there’s still familiar elements that pop up here and there. Being a sucker for buddy cop comedies, I not only found this one enjoyable, but a comedy duo I’d love to see revisited. Wrap it up in a neat little bow with an enjoyable score by Mark Mothersbaugh, and CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller keeping the pace moving along, and you’ve got one of the most satisfying comedies to come along in recent years. This is three for three on films that took animation directors and let them try their hands at live action, with great results. I’m hoping the directing duo here will stick with the team should these characters get a sequel. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of the original series, 21 JUMP STREET is just a fun romp at the movies, and never tries to take itself too seriously. The end result is ridiculously entertaining, and absolutely worth a look.

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