22 Jump Street

I'm usually not crazy about the idea of remakes. Hollywood seems to have run out of original ideas years ago. So when the 21 Jump Street movie came out 2 years ago, I didn't see it in theaters. But then I cam across it on TV and thought, "Wow! This is really funny." So now that they've released 22 Jump Street, I made sure to see it on opening night. I'm glad I did see it since it was hilarious! After seeing The Fault in Our Stars last week, I was in desperate need of a comedy.

22 Jump Street has essentially the same plot as the first movie. Only this time instead of going undercover in high school, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are going to college.

What I love about what directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who also directed 21 Jump Street as well as The Lego Movie, another movie which I really enjoyed) have done here is that they don't pretend that this movie is serious or award worthy. It's very much self aware. They make fun of themselves, the original TV show, and even the previous movie. For me, that's what made this so funny and clever. Be sure to stay for the credits. Without giving too much away, it's a brilliant sequence with some surprise cameos.

Another thing I loved about this was Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Looking at the two of them you think, "How the hell is this going to work?" But it does! They have great chemistry and you can tell they're friends in real life. They looked like they were having a blast while filming. I would love it if they made more movies together. Maybe 23 Jump Street? We can only hope.

Look, 22 Jump Street is not a perfect movie. A few, and only a few, of the jokes fall flat but so what? I had a great time watching this and I think you will too. I'd say it's the funniest movie I've seen this year. If you liked the first movie then you'll LOVE this one.

My Rating: 8.5/10