21 Jump Street: A Ruddy Good Watch

21 Jump Street, starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, tells the tale of two incompetent police officers who return to school to investigate the distribution of a dangerous new drug.

Officers Jenko and Schmidt could not be more different. But despite the animosity they had towards each other during high school, as newly graduated police officers they find themselves the best of friends. After the fiasco of their first attempted arrest, they are transferred to 21 Jump Street. This division is geared towards infiltrating schools by undercover investigations, so the two officers are forced to once again face the trials and tribulations of high school life – in order to bring down an up and coming drug market.

The unlikely pairing of Tatum and Hill is surprisingly effective as the gags come thick and fast. Tatum is unlikely to ever have the acting ability of an Al Pacino or a Russell Crowe, say, but he shows enough heart to give the film depth in its more intimate moments. Hill gives the sort of typically hilarious performance for which he has become known.

In addition to the lead duo, there are also some memorable interludes from, among others, Rob Riggle and Ice Cube in their roles as the gym teacher and hard hitting, obnoxiously crude police chief. 

As a whole, the film has no shortage of well manufactured jokes in what is, if anything, a slightly farfetched plot line. Think Superbad meets Kindergarten Cop (that 1990 cult classic starring Arnold ‘Arnie’ Schwarzenegger: a personal favourite of The Buzz) – a delightful blend of gross-out comedy and adult-goes-back-to-school tomfoolery.

The ‘gross-out comedy’ tag is not to do it a disservice, mind. Behind the light hearted nature of 21 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have created what The Buzz expects to be one of the hit comedies of 2012.

We highly recommend you see this film when it is released on 16th March 2012. It is a ruddy good watch.