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21 Jump Street (2011) POST-Release Thread (not an asshole)

post #1 of 133
2/21/12 at 10:21pm
Thread Starter 

Tim's review on the main page: 

http://www.chud.com/86934/review-21-jump-street/

 

My thoughts...

 

Completely forgot that Phil Lord & Chris Miller were eventually attached to direct this.  No wonder I had such fun with this. I love, LOVE, LOOOOOVE Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and their new film is completely in line with their sensibilities (they even brought along Mark Mothersbaugh for scoring duties again!).  It strikes a good balance between self-referential winking and playing the emotional beats straight.  As they did with Cloudy, they're not afraid to be a little random and outright cartoonish at times while managing to tell a pretty effective story with characters that are really easy to like.  

 

Seriously... I spent most of last night in the chat room giving Channing Tatum shit about his non-performance in GI JOE, but I really liked him in this.  He and Jonah Hill quickly develop a sweet chemistry within the first 5 minutes of the movie.

 

I also just found out that Scott Pilgrim co-writer Michael Bacall wrote the film as well.  That and Brie Larson (I recognized her face, but could not place her until I read the end credits) is in the film as Jonah Hill's romantic interest.  Also, there's a guy in the movie I kept thinking, "The guy's a dead ringer for James Franco!"  Then in the credits I found out the guy is Dave Franco.  DID NOT KNOW.  Several fun cameos and minor roles for familiar faces as well.

 

It's likely not a film that'll stay with me for too long, but it was a riot with a crowd.  

 

IT MADE ME LIKE CHANNING TATUM!


Edited by mcnooj82 - 3/16/12 at 11:48am
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post #2 of 133
2/22/12 at 8:58pm

Good review, thanks for the heads up. Curious to see how a couple of cartoon guys handle a big R-rated action comedy.

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post #3 of 133
3/6/12 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 

With the film getting closer to release and having screened quite a bit already, I hope there are more people around here who have seen this.

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post #4 of 133
3/6/12 at 9:11pm

A friend whose opinion I value in these matters got into a screening and detested it.  That's all I got.

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post #5 of 133
3/6/12 at 9:16pm
Thread Starter 

Don't leave me hangin'!!!

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post #6 of 133
3/6/12 at 9:16pm

Dammit. I've been burning through the original series (which, despite the 80s-ness and utter lack of serialization is still quite good) and every time I see a preview for this, my heart dies a little. People make a big deal about a remake or sequel not feeling like the original or predecessor and the previews make this out to be some laugh fest, where the show was a very emotional look at a lot of issues facing kids at the time. This looks so...yuk-yuky. But now...I guess I'll walk in with a more open mind. Thanks, nooj!

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post #7 of 133
3/6/12 at 9:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarleyQuinn22 View Post

A friend whose opinion I value in these matters got into a screening and detested it.  That's all I got.


I too want to know more. Haven't seen it yet, but I've heard near unanimous praise from some trusted people I've spoken to.

 

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post #8 of 133
3/6/12 at 9:55pm
Thread Starter 

Talking to another Chewer on Facebook right now who just got out of a screening.  He commented that the spoof aspects of the film are a bit too on-the-nose for his tastes.  He said he missed the era when people would have to figure out the references later on if they didn't get it.  Now, things are hammered home for everyone.  He's certainly not wrong.  The film is very eager to please.

 

Never seen the original series, Doc.  And the film mostly just seems to be 21 Jump Street in name only.  This could've been called something else.  The tone of the film is one in which it makes fun of itself for being a movie version of an older TV show.

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post #9 of 133
3/6/12 at 10:00pm

I've heard nothing but good things as well. Might do a double feature with this and John Carter this Friday before work.

 

Did Depp end up filming his cameo?

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post #10 of 133
3/6/12 at 10:07pm
Thread Starter 

He did.

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post #11 of 133
3/6/12 at 11:44pm

Had no idea that the guys behind Cloudy and Clone High were behind this. That alone might be enough to get me in the theater.

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post #12 of 133
3/13/12 at 9:01am
Thread Starter 

C'mon Harley!  Tell us more about your detested friend's reaction!

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post #13 of 133
3/13/12 at 9:30am

Seeing it on Thursday. Hope to have a review up later that night. The word of mouth on this has been so surprisingly positive, never would have guessed that. I've been intrigued for a while.

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post #14 of 133
3/13/12 at 9:31am

Saw this for SXSW. It's pretty freakin' funny. I'd put it on about the same level of Pineapple Express of being able to juggle the yuk's with actual characters and at least two really fun action set pieces.

 

And the buzz is true: Channing Tatum is hilarious in this. He upstages Hill on a lot of the humor, partly because he gets the funnier storyline--the dumb meathead forced to become a nerd and discovering he's pretty good at it--but also because his timing is killer. 

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post #15 of 133
3/13/12 at 9:52am
Thread Starter 

Fuck you, Math!

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post #16 of 133
3/13/12 at 9:57am

I get not thinking this is a masterpiece, but I don't get not liking this. Shit's funny.

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post #17 of 133
3/13/12 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 

You just like it because it features Brie Larson being ridiculously cute!

 

I got your number!

 

Masterpiece is probably jumping the gun.  But this is really something that needs to be seen with a great crowd.  The reaction the film got during the 'fingering' scene was deafening.

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post #18 of 133
3/13/12 at 11:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post

 

Masterpiece is probably jumping the gun.  But this is really something that needs to be seen with a great crowd.  


That reaction was quickly topped by the next scene, where they start tripping balls in front of Rob Riggles. "Stage 4: FUCK YEAH MOTHERFUCKER" and his head randomly turning into a stuffed cat had people hyperventilating

 

.

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post #19 of 133
3/13/12 at 11:59am

There are some things where it's just works. Hill and Tatum have good comic chemistry together, the movie moves fast, it makes you laugh, and there's just enough going on under the surface (about how our culture has changed dramatically in some ways over the last ten years) that the film isn't just gags and gags and gags.

 

Brie Larson don't hurt though. Larson is an honest to goodness cinephile. She said her two main influences for this movie were THE SUPER COPS and FREEBIE AND THE BEAN.

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post #20 of 133
3/13/12 at 6:06pm

Really really funny.

 

The beginning seemed a little rocky, and I didn't really laugh at anything in the first fifteen to twenty minutes. Once the characters hit high school, it really takes off, and keeps building. I like that, even though Miller and Lord are committed to adhering to certain genre staples, they're also not afraid to go very very weird.

 

Also, man, that Depp cameo... we all knew it was coming, but no one here should spoil it. I'll just say how I was surprised at how... involved it was.

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post #21 of 133
3/13/12 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 

I had no idea it was coming, since I hadn't followed this movie's development at all.  It got a huge reaction. 

 

You gotta admire the film for that 'rocky' beginning.  Not that I thought it was rocky, but it was setting up all the first act stuff that made the rest of the movie work so well.  The movie isn't afraid to go weird, but there's plenty of set-up and pay-off in the film and it feels really tight.  I mean the Miranda payoff was legitimately uplifting for me. 

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post #22 of 133
3/13/12 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post

C'mon Harley!  Tell us more about your detested friend's reaction!



There's nothing to tell.  He just mentioned that he had seen it and when I asked how it was, he said "I fucking detested it.  Was not funny."

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post #23 of 133
3/13/12 at 7:03pm
Thread Starter 

Tell him I hate him.

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post #24 of 133
3/13/12 at 7:28pm

Will do.

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post #25 of 133
3/13/12 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 

(checks off list)
 

  • Bai Ling  30x_checkmark.png
  • Logan Lerman30x_checkmark.png
  • Jennifer Aniston30x_checkmark.png
  • James30x_checkmark.png
  • Megan Fox30x_checkmark.png
  • Harley's Friend30x_checkmark.png
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post #26 of 133
3/16/12 at 11:49am
Thread Starter 

NO!  This is the MAIN thread!  The real deal!  The original!  And not an asshole!

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post #27 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:11pm

Wasn't referring to this thread!!! My bad, just everyone forgive me okay???

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post #28 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:21pm

It has been a long time since I've caught this much flack amongst my social circle over the trailer for a comedy. EVERY SINGLE time this movie comes up and I say I'm looking forward to it, I get the weirdest looks -- years of respecting my opinion on cinema visibly draining from their faces. I don't understand. The trailer is funny.

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post #29 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:33pm

A buddy told me the same thing today. "I respect your tastes. But, c'mon man, really?"

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post #30 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 

When it comes to something so heavily commercialized and common (movies), I find that this supposed respect that my friends have for my cinema knowledge doesn't account for much.  Heheheh.  It's weak currency.

 

"Go see this!  It's really good!"

"Oh... ok.  I'm sure I'll catch it on Netflix or something when I'm bored."

 

"Mmmf."

 

Had a fun series of Facebook comments with Tati and Chris Olson last night that basically amounted to this.

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post #31 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by roboTimKelly View Post

A buddy told me the same thing today. "I respect your tastes. But, c'mon man, really?"



This doesn't bode well for its box office. Fortunately it didn't cost $300 million. Hopefully our friends are just snots and all the idiots out there think it looks great.

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post #32 of 133
3/16/12 at 12:53pm

There's nothing in the trailers that would inspire me to see this movie. It just doesn't strike me as funny. The last time a comedy had a similar combination of boring (to me) trailer and  critical praise was Pineapple Express. And I ended up deeply disappointed in Pineapple Express.

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post #33 of 133
3/16/12 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 

I probably enjoyed this a lot more than Pineapple Express.  Of course 21 Jump Street has the advantage of feeling a lot fresher.  It's also paced much faster.

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post #34 of 133
3/16/12 at 1:11pm

Love where they leave it at the end. I want to see that movie. 

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post #35 of 133
3/16/12 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 

Damn.  I forgot where they leave it at the end.  No matter.  I'm gonna go see this again tonight.

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post #36 of 133
3/16/12 at 1:22pm

This movie is really fucking funny.

 

I'd watch a whole 90 minutes of Channing Tatum trying to rap about atoms.

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post #37 of 133
3/16/12 at 3:02pm

"WHAT DO I DO!?"

"CHASE SOMEONE!!" 

 

Spot on review Tim.

 

This was hysterical. I'm bringing up Pineapple Express too, but it's a similar film with a similar holy-shit-that-pretty-boys-funny surprise.

Tatum actually upstages Hill. He's a revelation. When he crashes the band practice I was gasping! "KEEP IT GOING! KEEP IT GOING!"

 

I had no idea the cameo was coming up and it slaughtered the audience. It's very rare to get a reaction like that like in a theatre over here.

 

Best surprise this year. 5 pants out of five!

 

 

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post #38 of 133
3/16/12 at 8:55pm

Too soon to say it's a classic but damn if it isn't the funniest movie I've seen in a loooooong time.   Channing Tatum tripping balls doing an equation with nothing but "4's" and crashing the band practice is gut bustingly hilarious.   And his sense of pride being able to recite the Miranda rights was gold.    It already feels like the comedy of 2012.   Not trying to oversell this but it's much much better than I thought it would be.

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post #39 of 133
3/16/12 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 

I'm actually kinda 'worried' that the praise is going to result in people who are let down by the movie.

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post #40 of 133
3/16/12 at 9:37pm

That could be a problem but only for people without a sense of humor.   I'd rank the hit to miss ratio to somewhere between Anchorman and Step Brothers.   The amount of jokes mined just from the 21 Jump Street HQ alone puts it ahead of some of 2011's comedy output.   I won't spoil them here until more people have seen the movie but there's one scene in particular that took place at the church that had me laughing to the point of tears.

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post #41 of 133
3/16/12 at 10:00pm
Best studio comedy I've seen in years.
 
In a way, it's MEAN GIRLS for boys.
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post #42 of 133
3/16/12 at 10:26pm

Caught it tonight, not quite a MacGruber but right up there on the "holy shit, that was good?" scale. As others have said, Channing earns his fucking stripes on this one, though a lot of the best gags were the weird throwaway things, like the Student Driving Instructor's "Hey, HEY! Ah who cares," and Korean Jesus. Don't go in expecting the second coming of Airplane, but the trailers that preceded my showing (Adam Sandler and American Pie: The Reckoning) just reminded me how fucking nice it is to see a big, funny, original movie...that's rehashing shit from the 80's.

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post #43 of 133
3/16/12 at 10:34pm

Absolutely fell in love with this. To echo everyone here, Tatum has found his calling in the form of comedy. What a standout show by him. This thing is easily the best Hollywood comedy I've seen since Observe and Report years ago. I'm kind of in awe at the sheer number of gags that hit in this. Also, it is quite the fun action film as well, containing a clever JCVD-esque one-liner before the villain is defeated. I'm impressed.

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post #44 of 133
3/16/12 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 

It's amazing how many times I went, "Awwwwwww" for Tatum's character.  He's such a teddy bear in this.  I fucking cherish him.

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post #45 of 133
3/16/12 at 10:58pm

Also, the constant refusal of a big fireball explosion. You knew it was coming, but it still killed.

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post #46 of 133
3/16/12 at 11:02pm
Thread Starter 

Oh god, Brie Larson.  I don't know if that's naturally how she looks or if it's weight she put on to look more believable as a romantic foil for Jonah Hill... but she is adorable.  It also has a lot to do with how down-to-earth her role is, but I found her so much more appealing here than in Scott Pilgrim.

 

I actually had a hard time recognizing her.

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post #47 of 133
3/17/12 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post

It's amazing how many times I went, "Awwwwwww" for Tatum's character.  He's such a teddy bear in this.  I fucking cherish him.



Yes. He wasn't just goofy, he was lovable, which is difficult to pull off. 

 

Another bit that cracked me up. "You're going to Jump Street, 37 Jump Street. No wait that doesn't sound right." Such a weird fourth wall break. I might go and see this again.

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post #48 of 133
3/17/12 at 8:42am

I'm kinda surprised Nick Offerman's entire scene got past the studio, actually. That was sort of a nasty dig he took. Or maybe I'm a grandma, I dunno.

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post #49 of 133
3/17/12 at 9:23am

Nasty? Really? Yeah, I think they can take it. Now please tell us stories about what it was like to live through the Great Depression.

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post #50 of 133
3/17/12 at 9:45am

The Korean Jesus bit killed me.   Everything from how he looked to the prayer to Ice Cube telling Jonah Hill to stop bothering Korean Jesus.   He's taking care of Korean shit.   Oh and the church being called "Aroma of Christ" Church?   I was hurting from laughter.

 

As for Nick Offerman's scene, it was funny but the whole meta commentary of Hollywood recycling culture and hoping you don't notice felt a bit on the nose and was one of the few gags that failed to hit its mark.

 

I'm just so happy Channing Tatum busted out of Chick Flick jail.   Movies like "The Vow" aren't what this guy should be doing.

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