'21 Jump Street' - It's laughter all the way | India Gazette

'21 Jump Street' - It's laughter all the way

India Gazette (IANS) Saturday 21st April, 2012

Film: '21 Jump Street'; Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube; Director: Phil Lord and Chris Miller; Rating: 1/2

Filmmaking is a complex art where the same elements can mix up in different ways to make a completely different film. A case in point is '21 Jump Street'.

Its story is your typical and average 'Buddy flick' but has been executed in a manner that is funny, irreverent, self-deprecating and laugh-riot to boot. That this hilarious caper is based on a late 1990s TV series which was more a moral, crime tale for teens than a funny one, is something that becomes as funny as the movie.

Schmidt (Hill) and Janko (Tatum) are as opposites as they get. The former is smart, but the latter is popular and good in sports.

At police academy, they team up to help each other pass. Joining the force, they become part of '21 Jump Street' an undercover operation where young police officers infiltrate schools to rid them of menace.

They are assigned to a high school and told to find the source of a new drug that is doing the rounds. However, their re-entry into school and their mission would be tougher than they had ever imagined.

Films like this work mainly on one thing - their gags. Surprisingly this one manages to get its dose of original gags and slapstick comedy right enough to have you laughing through its duration.

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