21 Jump Street, other shit

I'd been sold on 21 Jump Street for a while. So much so that I tried to stay away from every trailer and clip after the first so it would be as fresh as possible upon first viewing. Man oh man this flick did not disappoint.

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a great fucking comedy in theaters. In fact, I think the last comedy I saw in theaters period was Bridesmaids, which was by no means great, which made my experience with 21 Jump Street all the more precious.

Right off the bat, the movie distinguishes itself from other recent comedic TV adaptations by getting through the set-up immediately and hilariously, and going straight to the point. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum go undercover at a local high school to uncover a drug ring. BOOM. That's it. Off and running. What follows in term of plot or story doesn't really matter too much from there, although I'm surprised to say more attention was paid to it than I would have expected which is never a bad thing.

But as it happens, the best laughs come from Hill's and Tatum's friendship, as the two find themselves in opposite roles as they were in school. Hill falls into the popular crowd while Tatum finds unexpected solace with the nerds. Yes, the role reversal is old as time itself in the comedy world, but the two performers not only make it gut-bustingly hilarious, they also manage to make it feel like these guys actually consider each other best friends.

While Hill deserves a lot of credit here for not only being hilarious in it, he co-wrote and co-produced the damn thing, it's Tatum who steals the whole show. His deadpan delivery and jock turned nerd attitude is a comedic goldmine. One instance in particular where he is forced to give a password and engage in an imaginary light-saber battle was simply incredible. It's merely a moment in the movie, but every time I think about it I laugh.

And that right there proves that 21 Jump Street is a great comedy. It's stayed with me. I keep replaying moments in my head, laughing each time. There was actually a point when I was watching it that my face hurt because I was laughing for so long. I don't mean to hype this movie too much, it's definitely not the best comedy ever made. But shit, man. It's just so fucking funny.


As for the 'other shit', I briefly want to talk about The Rules of Attraction, a movie I hadn't seen since high school and one that I felt was ridiculously over-rated. However, it recently popped up on netflix instant and since I had recently watched American Psycho for the 54th time I felt it a good opportunity to see if it was as bad as I remember.

To my surprise I ended up liking it quite a bit, though I can't really put my finger on why. The cast is interesting though never amazing. There is an overall feeling of pretentiousness that I remember turning me off when I first saw it and it never comes close to being as deep or interesting as it wants to be. But for some reason, I just really enjoyed it this time. Now that I think about it, I think a lot of it has to with James Van Der Beek. Hold on, hear me out now. As I mentioned, he's not amazing here, but he shows a good sense for dark humor with his narration and willingness to go for it and I just found him fun to watch. Or maybe I just really like Varsity Blues, I don't know.

Until next time dudes. Suck it.