If 21 Jump Street was a parody of high school culture and buddy-cop movies, then 22 Jump Street is a parody of college culture and unnecessary Hollywood sequels. The latter part comes as absolutely no surprise to modern audiences anymore; everyone has seen it happen countless times, most notably with The Hangover which was a success with audiences and critics, but later gained two sequels that were both critically panned despite solid profits at the box-office. On one hand, consumers know that the existence of these kinds of sequels are mostly pointless and are only attempts to make money, yet many people still shell out their hard-earned cash to continue seeing these sequels – sometimes even if they think it is going to be a bad movie. It is a strange phenomenon in Hollywood culture that nevertheless persists today, and the unexpected success of the wildly funny 21 Jump Street promptly made it the next target for a new franchise. Despite following the same trend as many unnecessary sequels, however, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller decided to laugh it all the way to the bank with 22 Jump Street by making a barrage of frequently funny jabs at Hollywood culture through the same formula that made 21 Jump Street a breath of fresh air – even if it sacrifices some of its own originality to make a point in the process.
After successfully stopping the HFS drug outbreak in a local high school through the Metropolitan City Police Department’s special division at 21 Jump Street, officers Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are once again back on the streets living the dream of chasing after bad guys like heroes. Unfortunately, after a failed attempt to stop a gang in a dock, Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) decides to re-assign them back to 21 Jump Street after the department put more money into the revival of the program due to its unexpected success (take one guess as to the not-so-subtle context behind this plot point). However, because the Koreans re-bought the church at 21 Jump Street where the program was originally located, it has instead been moved next door to 22 Jump Street. Once again, Schmidt and Jenko are working with Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) to bring down a new supply of drugs dubbed as WHYPHY, only this time they are going to be doing so in a college environment They take on the assignment with expectations similar to how they took down HFS, and events begin to unfold in a similar fashion to how they did before…or are they?
22 Jump Street uses the same self-deprecating formula that made 21 Jump Street great by playing itself as an unnecessary sequel to satirize Hollywood’s trend of making pointless extensions of original movies, but unfortunately this comes with its share of problems to the film’s humor. One of the qualities that made the first movie great – besides the terrific cast, witty script and surprisingly touching story – was the fact that the movie confined to the clichés of its genre in a conventional manner only to almost constantly make fun of itself at every turn. It never took itself too seriously, and its gags were built around the expectations that were commonly associated with its genre, only for the film to suddenly do something completely unexpected or wildly ludicrous with its scenarios. The major issue with 22 Jump Street is that for much of the movie, a lot of the humor is expected and more predictable. The movie makes its point well about how sequels such as this will borrow so much from the original in an attempt to please fans that they will play it safe and not do anything original – The Hangover: Part II perhaps being the worst culprit of this – but it does not change the fact that compared to the original, it just lacks the breath of fresh air 21 Jump Street brought to the table.
That is not to say none of the jokes are funny; there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments – some that are even funnier than in the first movie – but a fair chunk of them are built off of what was already accomplished in the last movie. One of the two protagonists suddenly gaining popularity over the other? Check. A drug-induced nightmare filled with some of the most random and ridiculous imagery you will see all year? Check. A crazy car chase that parodies some of the common clichés in an action movie set-piece? Check. A pivotal climax set during one of the biggest events of high school/college culture? Check and mate. There are also some jokes that are repeated based off of the fans’ knowledge of the first movie, and while the majority of them are funny (wait until you see the replacement for Korean Jesus in this one), there is nevertheless an air of familiarity to much of the humor in 22 Jump Street that prevents it from being as inventive, ridiculous and hilarious as its predecessor. 21 Jump Street was a great success because it was unconventional, and while the sequel certainly uses its formula to good effect most of the time, it plays it far more conventionally than its predecessor.
Thankfully, the sequel was handled by the same team that made the first movie, and as usual, they brought forth their A-game to this installment. Lord and Miller have made some truly hysterical comedies over the years – look no further than The Lego Movie for what is perhaps set to be the funniest movie of the year – and they bring over the same self-deprecation, no-holds-bar R-rated gags and modern outlook on American culture to create an equally zany return for Schmidt and Jenko. Much like 21 Jump Street, jokes are so constant and fast-paced that it is extremely difficult to be able to catch every single one of them in a single setting. While more of the jokes fall flatter this time around than in its predecessor, the sequel still has quite a number of jokes that are not only funny, but side-splitting, knee-slapping and gut-bustingly uproarious. Much of this is due to the superb chemistry and comedic timing of the perfectly-mismatched Hill and Tatum who once again excel at matching their stereotypes and playing cops who are way out of their league. Better yet, their chemistry also makes for a believable bromance that adds just enough drama to make you care about the characters without making the story become too serious or too sappy.
22 Jump Street is a prime example of a film that knows what it is and runs with it to whatever end, for better and for worse. The point of its existence is that it does not really have much of a point; it is a product of the Hollywood system in which a great film is milked into a franchise to build off of the success of the first installment in an attempt to make money. 22 Jump Street knows it probably should not exist, but it rolls with it and delivers the same great cast, the same great jokes and the same enjoyable sense of self-awareness that made the first movie great. To its credit, though, it does manage to take the formula in new directions in the second half which make up for the more underwhelming parts of the first half. In the end, it is arguable that the weaker qualities of 22 Jump Street only further emphasize its point about unnecessary sequels: that they are only repeats of the first movie in an attempt to please audiences who knowingly go to pay to see the same thing all over again. While its self-deprecation is not enough to save the movie from its faults, 22 Jump Street is more intelligent than it initially appears, and if there is one unnecessary rehash sequel that deserves your time and money, it is this one.
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The Good:
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller bring back the great formula that made 21 Jump Street memorable and delivers it on again while also occasionally taking it in new, unexpected directions
The script is wonderfully self-deprecating and works as both a jab at unnecessary Hollywood sequels/re-trends and also as a self-aware parody of its own circumstances
Frequent and fast-paced jokes that mostly manage to succeed in eliciting big laughs
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are a mismatch made in heaven and are once again entertaining to watch for their superb chemistry and their excellent comedic timing and delivery
One of the best end credits sequences in recent memory
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The Bad:
While its self-deprecation at the fact that it is repeating the same stuff from the first movie is amusing, the first half still feels too similar to the point that it feels slower and less funny than the first movie until it picks up in the second half
Some of the jokes fall a bit flat and others – while sometimes funny – are built too much off of some of the gags in the first movie
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Overall: 7/10 (Good)