Funny moments with Jonah Hill in '21 Jump Street': movie review (+trailer)
Actor Jonah Hill has some funny moments, but his co-star Channing Tatum and the movie itself both try too hard to be goofy.
In the film update of the 1987 TV series, Jonah Hill (c.) and Channing Tatum (r.) must go undercover at a local high school.
Scott Garfield/HONS/Columbia Pictures – Sony/AP
I’ve never been a big fan of retreading 1980s TV shows into feature films. “21 Jump Street,” the latest specimen of this subgenre, serves primarily as a vehicle for the oddball pairing of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum playing rookie undercover cops assigned to bust a drug ring in a local high school. Hill, in his slimmed-down mode, has some choice dweeby moments, but Tatum tries too hard to be goofy, as does the movie.
The basic premise – that these two are supposed to be high school age and siblings – is funny, but the joke, as is true of many others in this movie, is replayed way too often. Look for a cameo by a movie star whose initials are J.D. Grade: C (Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence.)