Set aside memories of the Johnny Depp starring ‘80s TV show that inspired the 2012 movie ’21 Jump Street’. ‘22 Jump Street’ is as much as a parody as a bromance, and it’s certainly not much about police work.
This time Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) go to college to track down a new drug lethal called WhyPhy that is infiltrating the campus.
Jenko’s bonding with a classmate on the football team sends Schmidt into a spiral of self-doubt, jealousy and insecurities that threaten to cause a break-up in their partnership. Unable to fit into the jock scene, Schmidt continues his investigations in the art scene where he hooks up with an art major, Maya (Amber Stevens).
Alongside some sloppy police work, Schmidt and Jonah live a belated existence in college where they reevaluate their relationship from high school juvenility to a more mature professional partnership and enduring friendship. The bromance is secure – and the case too gets solved, naturally against the backdrop of a debauched spring break.
Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller handle the success of ‘21 Jump Street’ (the movie) deftly to give the audience just what it wants – a mindless, self-deprecating, entertaining sequel.
The best part of 22 Jump Street is the end credits – among the most inventive I have seen in a long time.
Rating: ***
