EW Explains the Inside Jokes from “22 Jump Street”
Posted on June 16, 2014 at 8:00 am
I got most of these, and especially enjoyed the “Benjamin Hill Center for Film Studies,” glimpsed during the silly chase scene. But I didn’t know anything about this one.
Lord and Miller treated fans with another Easter egg when they included a familiar dolphin sound in the opening set-up’s exotic animal truck chase. Dolphin references are one of Lord and Miller’s signatures; you can find them in every episode of the pair’s cult favorite TV series Clone High.
These two films show that that Hollywood has made real and gratifying progress.
The very R-rated “22 Jump Street” has some fun with the idea that the two main characters have the dynamics of a romantic couple, and are seen that way by at least one other character. The current cover of Entertainment Weekly reflects that theme as well. This is a core element in many other comedy teams, from Laurel and Hardy (who even played each other’s wives in one film) to Martin and Lewis and Hope and Crosby. As in their last film, “22 Jump Street” has explicit portrayals of characters being schooled about use of anti-gay epithets. In real life, Jonah Hill has recently made a sincere and heartfelt apology for his own comment along those lines when he was provoked by an intrusive photographer. There is still more progress to be made, but this film shows significant and meaningful improvement.
The family film “How to Train Your Dragon 2” has a brief, understated comment by a character that the difficulty of dealing with women is just one reason he isn’t married, reportedly an ad lib by the actor who plays him. Given that nearly half of today’s children live in states where marriage equality is the law, it may be that most of those who pay attention to this line will not recognize that as an indication that the character is gay. It is unlikely to be noticed at all by most children. Even The Catholic Register’s Steven D. Greydanus says it is not intrusive enough to recommend skipping the film in a piece showing admirable respect, though he can’t resist saying that he questions his earlier description of the character in question as “an old-school man’s man.” Movies like this one will help the next generation understand that what makes a man a man is not who he loves but who he is.
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, drug material, brief nudity and some violence
Profanity:
Constant very strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:
Drinking, drunkenness, drugs and drug dealing
Violence/ Scariness:
Comic action-style law enforcement violence, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:
Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:
June 13, 2014
Date Released to DVD:
November 18, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:
B00KPYT9PS
It can be treacherous to go meta in a sequel, especially in the sequel to movie based on a television series that was already pretty meta, with a climax that included appearances by Johnny Depp and some of the other stars of the 1980’s show about young-looking undercover cops. Meta can be smart and funny (see the movie based on another cheesy television series, “Charlie’s Angels”) but it can also be easy and self-absorbed. This sequel is in some ways about sequels, and one of its best moments comes at the very end, with a piling-on of increasingly sillier ideas for future chapters. There are a couple of nice digs at the bigger budget/lower quality/repetitiveness tradition of movie sequels at the beginning, in a scene with the hilariously deadpan Nick Offerman. But if you’re going to make that joke, you’d better be able to clear that hurdle (as Channing Tatum does in a running joke about his parkour-esque athleticism) and not face-plant (as Jonah Hill does in a recurring joke about his lack of athleticism). There are also recurring jokes about how the stars look too old to be in college, the dynamics of the two guys as a couple, and, again, about the bigger budget and repeated storylines, most of which are not as funny as the filmmakers hope.
The 21 Jump Street group has moved from the former Korean church they used as headquarters to a former Vietnamese church across the street. Hence the new address. And they have spent their bigger budget on a high-tech set-up that their commanding officer, Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), describes as suitable for Iron Man. This time, as we heard at the end of the last film, our undercover cops Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are going undercover in a college. And once again they are looking for the people behind the distribution of a powerful drug. This one is known as whyfhy (pronounced Wi-Fi), and it produces four hours of intense focus (for studying) followed by four hours of wild hallucinogenics (for partying). They stop by the prison to consult with a couple of characters from the last film, and then it’s time for school.
The first film had some real insights about high school, but this one feels based on movies about college rather than the dynamics of a real college environment. There is football, fraternity hazing, and spring break, but not a lot of energy or insight. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum is still terrific, and one scene where Jenko loses it following an awkward revelation in the captain’s office works very well. Peter Stormare has an underwritten role as a generic bad guy and Wyatt Russell (son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell) has an underwritten role as a frat guy. The one who comes close to stealing the show here is Jillian Bell as the former roommate of the student whose death led to the undercover operation. If (heaven forbid) there is another sequel, it should not be the budget that is bigger; it should be her role.
Parents should know that this film includes extremely strong and vulgar language, sexual references and non-explicit situations, brief nudity, drinking and drunkenness, fraternity hazing, drugs and drug dealing, law enforcement violence with guns and explosions, and characters who are injured and killed.
Family discussion: Which one of the sequel ideas glimpsed at the end looks funniest? Do you prefer relationships with some friction?
If you like this, try: “21 Jump Street” and “Lethal Weapon”
Hurry for summer movies! Sequels! Superheroes! Cars! Kisses! YA books! Gross-out comedies! Quirky indies!
Summer movie season kicks off in a big way tomorrow with “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” Other comic book superheroes coming soon to a theater near you include “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (which unites both casts from the previous films). Next week, we’ll get the new “Godzilla,” starring Bryan Cranston.
And summer means sequels. I’m very excited about “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” I’ve seen some footage already and it looks amazingly great. They don’t want us to call “Transformers: Age of Extinction” a sequel! It’s a reboot, with a new cast including Mark Wahlberg (but Stanley Tucci is back). “Dawn of Planet of the Apes” is a both a reboot and a sequel, if you know what I mean. “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” is a sequel to the Frank Miller story, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, and Mickey Rourke. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back for more pizza and action. “Think Like a Man Too” takes the gang to Las Vegas. For families with young children, “Planes: Fire and Rescue” is coming from Disney. I’m always glad to see another “Step Up” movie — this one is “All In.” Angelina Jolie stars as “Maleficent,” giving us another look at one of Disney’s scariest villains. And “22 Jump Street” looks very funny in a totally NSFW way.
YA novels come to the screen with the much-anticipated “Fault in our Stars” (bring a box of tissues, maybe two) and “The Giver.”
Quirky indies include Jon Favreau, returning to a small-budget, intimate story after the “Iron Man” blockbusters with “Chef,” and Daniel Radcliffe, Adam Driver, and Zoe Kazan in “What If.”
It looks like a great year for sci-fi special effects films. I’m especially looking forward to the Wachowskis’ “Jupiter Ascending” with Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum and Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in “Edge of Tomorrow.” And we’re getting a second Hercules film this year, this one starring The Rock.
And Scarlett Johansson continues her extraordinary year with Luc Besson’s “Lucy.’
Off-the-wall gross-out comedies include Melissa McCarthy’s “Tammy” with Susan Sarandon (as her grandmother!), “Sex Tape” with Jason Segal and Cameron Diaz learning to their dismay what “the cloud” means, and Seth Rogan and Zac Efron as feuding “Neighbors.” Adam Sandler reunites with his best co-star, Drew Barrymore, in “Blended,” the story of two single parents who have a disastrous date and then find themselves and their children sharing space on vacation on an African safari. I’m guessing there will be animal poop.
One of the most intriguing films this summer is “Boyhood,” filmed over a 12 year period so that it could follow the story of a young boy as he goes through adolescence, from Richard Linklater of the “Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight” series.
We’ll also get some great documentaries this summer, led off by the brilliant film I saw last week at Ebertfest, “Life Itself.” I can’t wait to see it again.
