Then….
In 1987, the Sunday night 7pm time slot was a sweet reprieve from the depression that the weekend was ending. When a blue “21” neon sign sizzled and the spray painted words “Jump Street” dripped down a brick wall, it meant one thing to many teenagers out there – an hour of Johnny Depp. Who could forget the depth of a bad boy actor playing a good boy who has to play a bad boy in order to fight crime in high school? This show made Johnny Depp an immediate teen idol.
I sometimes think that there is a fine line between professional stalker and pre-teen. It is a rite of passage for young girls to accumulate numerous pictures of their favorite teen idols and adorn their walls, lockers, etc. with them. Over the years, I’m sure parents see these teen idol shrines in their daughters’ bedrooms and pray their daughters’ stalker-like abilities don’t lead them down a path that ends up on a MSNBC documentary (the bad kind). Well, embarrassingly, I was no different as a pre-teen. When I was 11, I collected enough pictures from Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, and Bop to amass a nice collection of Johnny Depp photographs. However, instead of putting them on my bedroom wall, I took an even disturbing Type-A step and put them in a photo album (Annie from Misery would be proud). However, this was no ordinary photo album.
In 1986, Halley’s Comet was visible to the naked eye. Something that only happens approximately every 75-76 years. This comet has been appearing in our solar system as early as 240 BC and the next time this is happening again is in 2061. In short, back in ’86 this was kind of a bid deal. For a school project, I was forced to collect every newspaper and magazine article about the momentous event and store it in a photo album. Our teacher wanted us to preserve this historic event and create something we can one day share with our children. Let’s not forget this was at a time when the Internet wasn’t even conceivable to the public so this was a certainly a scientific keepsake. But who cares when you’re 11! So, to my mother’s dismay, Johnny replaced Halley. Now, instead of having an awesome historic moment preserved for life, all I have is evidence that I was a creepy stalker-child.
And now…
Naturally, as a huge 21 Jump Street fan, I was upset when I heard that there was going to be a remake. Let’s face it we all were. In fact, I am sure many of us cursed Hollywood, yet again, for its lack of originality. And why wouldn’t we after Hollywood has wronged us in the past – Footloose, Fame, and The A-Team. Then, when we heard that this was going to be a comedy. Many of us were just confused. How this will go over? Well, Hollywood should take lessons from this movie because this is how it’s done.
Looking back on the TV series, I only remembered the dramatic storylines (drugs, teenage prostitution, and abuse, etc.) and I actually forgot the show had elements of comic relief in each episode. Kudos to the creators for embracing that aspect of the series and just taking it to the extreme. However, this movie is more than just a gimmick it’s a hilarious flick.
The movie benefits by choosing not to ignore its roots. We aren’t starting from scratch as if the series never existed. It just picks up 25 years later in a revived Jump Street program. It was refreshing that the film used this as an opportunity to mock itself, and Hollywood, for rehashing old ideas. Plus, it’s fun to see how the different cameos are incorporated into the story (including one from my former idol worship days). Naturally, the Jump Street concept leads to many “teenager – then and now” jokes but they are funny and not tired.
But what really makes this movie click is the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. They are a great team. We knew Jonah had the chops to shine in a buddy comedy after Superbad. However, I certainly feared after Moneyball he would leave his comedy roots or worse lose his talent for selecting funny comedies. I was happy to see that he’s still got it. For Channing, this was a big step (and a surprise for many). A few months ago, he proved he can be charming in The Vow. This film proves to Hollywood that he has a talent for pure comedy. Wisely, his progression in Hollywood has been slow and steady and it looks like now he (and his agent) are about to win the race and cash in. I can’t even say that one actor overshadowed the other because the film made sure each had their shining moments. And in the end, I can’t wait to see them paired again.
Final thoughts: Even though I heard good word of mouth about the movie, I expected to be mildly amused and prepared myself that many of the funnier scenes were in the commercials. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The commercials don’t do this movie justice to how funny it is. This is the kind of movie where you can’t even recover from the first laugh before the next one comes around. Finally, Hollywood didn’t ruin something from the 80s.
Extra Credit to all you Jump Street fans out there –
One gold star if you recognized that Channing Tatum’s character, Jenko, was named after Captain Richard Jenko, the captain from TV series’ first season.
Two gold stars if you realized that Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s undercover last names were named after the Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise’s funny and disruptive undercover characters in the series – the McQuaid Brothers.
Categories: Comedies
ReelMemorable 
This was a great read. I look forward to more of your reel reviews.