Catch-22: 22 Jump Street Review

THIS MOVIE WAS SPOILER-PROOF TO BEGIN WITH

Forget p90x, Insanity, AND Hip Hop Abs! The best way to get the abs that you want is by seeing 22 Jump Street! And if laughing fat off doesn't interest you, just shut up and go see it, narc.

There's a new drug on the streets and Jenko and Schmidt are at it again. They produced, collaborated (on the story), and starred in what I predict is going to be the best blockbuster of the summer.

The movie carried a broad self-awareness that answered a lot of questions, including "where can they go with a sequel to a reboot of a 1980's TV show?" or "how can they possibly build upon the unexpected success of the first movie?"

Silencing all of the critics, 22 took the exact formula from the first movie, sent it to hair & makeup, altered some wardrobes, added a Lamborghini full of money, and went with it.

That's basically it. I just told you the movie. Funny thing is, that's not even 20 ounces of it.

There are times in Hollywood history where a random anomaly arrives and truly shakes up the established status quot. George Lucas did it with Star Wars. The Wachowski Brother's (Sibling's, for political correctness) did it with the Matrix, and James Cameron did it with Avatar.

smh...

In each of these movies, there is an essential and unique characteristic that the viewer took from the movie: Space, Slow motion, and Visual Effects. Collectively, they all contributed turn-of-the-century special effects.

Within the comedy genre, the Hangover was considered to be avant-garde by telling a story backwards via an extensive amount of inebriation, and Rohypnol. The gimmick was very much appreciated for the first movie, but the sequels fell prey to the "viciously cyclic" nature of Hollywood, and what I like to call a Catch 22.

Attaching the phrase "damned if you do, and damned if you don't" to the term would be oversimplifying the term, but KNOW YOUR ROLE AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Point blank, money will only be given if money is going to be made; instead of spending money on fresh/innovative ideas, the production company's will only invest in something they trust, which happens to be the original blueprint.

Hangover 2 and 3 sucked. Rush Hour 3 sucked. Men in Black 2 and 3 sucked. Evan Almighty sucked. , Legally Blonde 2, The Klumps, Major League II, Blues Brothers 2000, A Million Ways to Die in the West all freaking sucked. 

Okay, A Million Ways to Die in the West wasn't a sequel, but you get the drift of my extensive list. Despite all of them having the ability to suck a softball through a straw, the majority of them made significant profits. 

Needless to say, comedy sequels are not good ideas because they will more than undoubtedly suck and fester in the Hollywood Hall of WTF Moments. That being said, 22 takes the beaten path, or street, and stands out among some of the best comedies (not comedy sequels) since the new Millennium, even surpassing it's predecessor.

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!

It's one thing to make a good comedy sequel (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Toy Story 2 and 3) but it's another thing to vehemently disagree with the established success and acclaim of your originator, to firmly insert yourself (that's what she said) among the ranks of any Todd Phillips/Judd Apatow/Adam McKay production (which covers the majority of the Frat Pack members).

OBVIOUS CLARIFICATION DISCLAIMER, BEGIN!

I am only referring to the post-90's teen comedy phase. The 90's teen comedy phase was when Adam Sandler (which is one of my favorite comedians (whose movies I love (except his recent ones))) could get away with murder by muddling sporadic/self-conscious/silly obscenities for 90 minutes (wrapped in a story with an underlying positive message) and break the bank in the box office.

OBVIOUS CLARIFICATION DISCLAIMER, FINISH!

This movie is an organic satire and allegory. Covering interracial dating, homosexual relationships, and friendship strains, the movie is an effective tool for relating to the nation's youths. 

Comedy's with messages are few and far between these days. Also, the movie basically parodies and satirizes itself throughout the whole movie.

22 is vastly aware of itself, as it calls out the nature of its creation in the beginning of the movie. This establishes an organic satire-feel (echo!) throughout the movie that is filled with Easter eggs. This awareness creates a "self-depreciation" tone that ironically doesn't make you feel sorry for the film; it makes you appreciate it more.

Irony is used explicitly, natural comedy is called upon, and the character's chemistry is at an all time high in buddy cop history, channeling their inner Riggs & Murtaugh, Carter & Lee, and Hoitz & Gamble.

Lethal Weapon 5 on VHS and DVD

Of course physical comedy always follows Jonah Hill so that adds to the comedic punch, on top of Channing Tatum's impressive dumb-jock comedic performance.

You might be asking, "how could he have gotten any dumber?' or "is it really that hard to play a dumb-jock?". Well the fact of the matter is, Tatum outdid his previous shenanigans and served up a very entertaining comedic performance.

Jonah Hill takes a back seat in this one, but he's still as funny as he was in the first film. Hill also flexes his acting chops; it's a real pleasure to see the duality of an actor in such a silly movie.

Sidebar: Tatum also performs some pretty impressive stunts, that put me more at ease about his casting as Gambit.

**cues Pony by Ginuwine**

Story wise, to say that they told me what was coming, and still put together an interesting plot showed that the writing in this movie was phenomenal.

For me to know what was going to happen and still be surprised obviously makes me an idiot, according to the movie. But for the sake of my intelligence, the movie added a subtle Law & Order-like plot twist that made me feel even lesser; so...my intelligence wasn't salvaged after all.

Mad love to the writer's for incorporating Ice Cube into a vital role for the plot. Despite him being blacker than you can ever imagine, which is something acknowledged in the first movie (angry black police chief), he was a delight to watch throughout the film.

Do you remember Tyrese in Transformer's or in any movie for that matter, saying every line in the Stereotypical Black Supporting Character Encyclopedia Vol. 17? Well, Ice Cube one-upped him in 22 taking the stereotype to another level.

The movie cameos were great, as they did not pull an Anchorman 2 by just throwing people in the movie just for the hell of it.

Yeah...no comment

The action in this movie, predominantly Channing Tatum, was more voluminous as compared to the first film, but not to the point where it took away from the plot. The action sequences had just a much comedy as the rest of the movie, so it's not like the tone of the movie changed to a scene from Drive Angry.

Drive Angry...you know that movie with Nicholas Cage?

The jokes ran rampantly throughout the movie, virtually not giving me any time to recover from the previous joke. The jokes were witty, raunchy, subtle, quirky, spastic, physical, whatever you wanted it to be; 22 served up a platter-full of jokes that kept me in tears.

Overall, the movie gets an A+ for basically showing you its hand and still taking the pot; it's easy to do so when you have a royal flush. Also, the movie avoided the contradicting conventions placed on it by Hollywood: same plot, more money, same expectations. 

EXTENDED SIDEBAR: BEGINNING

Moreover, the only way the production companies will green-light a sequel is if the first movie makes a significant profit; regardless of how good the movie is, the production company will back a sequel blindly.

And in order to make money, you have to make a good movie; making a good movie by Hollywood's standards (guns, explosions, laughs, formulaic plot) will make money, which will influence them to make another movie. On and on and on and on, the cipher's keep moving like a rolling stone.

This is NOT an Erykah Badu comic book btw

BUT! The whole point from jump street (ha) was to make a good movie. Who honestly goes out and says "let's make a terrible movie!" or "you know what guys, I hope we don't make any money in the box-office!"?

FYMF!!!

Therefore, if they keep making good movies while bringing in serious cheese, then who's to say when the franchise will reach its zenith? Unfortunately, the franchise will run itself into the ground without any artistic integrity left to bear.

So how do you avoid this Hollywood Catch 22 of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" syndrome? Well, you must bypass the system. GEE DANNY! HOW DO YA BYPASS THE SYSTEM?!?!

The solution is simple: air out your dirty laundry. 22 is clearly aware of its situation, and strives to avoid conventionality by calling itself out on numerous occasions. The end credit scenes serve as the cherry-on-top, as it basically closes its loop, leading the viewer to believe that it will go out on its own terms.

EXTENDED SIDEBAR: ENDING

All in all, drop everything that you are doing right at this instant and go see this freaking movie right now! This is a fun movie to go see, so do not wait until the weekend to go see it. Hell, if you can get a good torrent file, torrent this sumbitch right now; I do not condone torrent-ing, but this movie is really good (acting/comedy/writing/directing/story/action-wise).

I couldn't resist...

In the dictionary of Hollywood Cinema, there is a definition listed called "summer blockbuster". Next to this definition, a picture of 22 Jump Street is there shooting it's guns in the air like the BAMF (bad ass motherfucker) it is.

this one

Laughs. Action. Hell-yeah Moments. Good plot. Explosions. These are the words that describe 22 Jump Street. Do yourself a favor and go Catch this movie...or keep reading your Wine & Cheese Enthusiast Magazine, narc.

Like a Good Neighbor: Neighbors Review

NO SPOILERS BTW!!!

Weed. Bro humor. Slapstick. The three essentials to a Seth Rogen movie. Let’s face it, it would not be a Seth Rogen movie without it; despite This is The End being a summer smash hit, we’re still loathing in apprehension about the aftermath of the Green Hornet. (I heard Seth Rogen single handed-ly deleted every meme from the internet, BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE GIF'S THOUGH?!?!)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have a keen knack for writing a stellar comedy; Rogen’s strength lies in his pen (insert Pen is Mightier than the Sword reference, or typical Seth Rogen joke and re-read after “insert” and delete the space between Pen and is) and his natural Will-Ferrell-esque ability to command onscreen attention without saying a line. However by me saying that, it was not Seth Rogen who took the final shot in the fourth quarter. 

That’s right; Seth Rogen was methodically outdone by his supporting cast. For starters Rose Byrne (more recently known for Insidious), playing Rogen’s wife in Neighbors, went blow for blow (spare me the indecent, cheap sexual innuendo) with Rogen throughout the whole movie. As an actress, Rose Byrne is solid and generally plays her characters well (I am not reducing her into merely a character actress) and I’m sure she has done some fine stage work. 

In Neighbors, she almost effortlessly improvises well enough to suggest a career in cinema comedies. I say that ashamedly, because I honestly thought that she was miscast for this role; I felt as though Leslie Mann would have been a more comedic-familiar face, especially since she’s done work with Rogen in Knocked Up and Funny People (age may have been a factor but don’t tell her that, or it would've been somewhat reminiscent of a “This is 40” feel). Ultimately, my bad Miss Byrne you did a fantastic job and surprised the jakes out of me. 

Next up is Lil Franco; yeah Dave Franco, the outrageous yet talented James Franco's younger brother, does his best mellow Dave Franco impression (laid back, yet introverted-ly spastic, with a intrepid delivery that has the potential to turn any punch line into a knockout) as he adds his bro-medic flair to the party. Franco is "lights out" as a wing-man, as he serves as a change of pace character to his counterpart. 

Another fresh face is Jerrod Carmichael who is the oddball in the whole equation but in a good way; he’s passively naive and has the comedic delivery of a seasoned Dave Chappelle apostle (since all black people look alike, he kind of looks like him too). 

To round out my starting five, I introduce, in my opinion, the star of the show; the elusive assassin two-guard; the headliner at Lollapalooza; Zachary “High School Musical” Efron. Zac Efron, in my opinion, was the main event of this production, channeling his inner 21 Jump Street Channing Tatum, Pain & Gain Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, jock with a soft side to deliver possibly the best comedic performance of his young, and hopefully bright comedic career PUSH IT PUSH IT, TO THE LIMIT LIMIT!!! 

Technical foul

Now, I may have pushed pass my limit in saying that Seth Rogen got upstaged left; I mean, he kind of wrote the screenplay for the movie.  So, technically, he’s writing jokes and punch lines for his supporting cast; he’s throwing dimes; he’s located in a remote location somewhere in the world representing OnStar; he’s like a good neighbor (nice Segway). 

Watching Seth Rogen pitter patter throughout his transcendent, simplistic, genuine, comedic screenplay without contributing a hefty amount of onscreen yuck’s to my yuck tank was like watching Boston Batman being pallid and unremarkable in BOTH The Town and Argo; two astonishing movies, that are directed and written in such a manner that would make John Huston proud. 

Hold your horses, I say transcendent because (well I love the word, duh) this movie is introduced as a suburban battle between neighbors; the movie transforms into a generational struggle, with the two parties compromising their established values to progress. The movie further dives into a bilateral expose by highlighting the inner conflict within the two factions; eventually, the film rounds out to a complete comedy, with a 4^th of July-like ending.  

With that said, Seth Rogen surfaces as the Wizard of Oz (paying homage to his buddy James Franco) by being the mastermind behind the curtain, and helms the pen with wit and ingenuity to maneuver a vehicle effectively, and by effectively I mean box-office bullying and critical acclaiming (for the second summer in a row, after an interesting five year comedic flop/acting chop development journey), while at the same time not being all what he’s exactly cracked up to as an Yucknited States Postal Service deliveryman, like his supporting cast undoubtedly were. 

Ultimately, if you haven’t seen it by now, definitely go see it this weekend if you are looking for your monthly yuck’s, because this movie is a very balanced, well rounded comedy, drawing inspiration from comedy reaching from the 60’s physical comedy to the present “just-go-with-it-improv’ comedy (especially if you’re in the male age demographic of 18-35); plus, I'm 50/50 (ha, pun intended) on how good the other Seth's movie will be (although, Ted was a surprise hit, lol).

Outside of that demographic, I honestly feel that this movie has key movements that even an untrained ear could detect and enjoy; the dynamics within the neighbor factions is an interesting dynamic that has enough material and depth to support a standalone movie. 

The Efron/Franco universe felt “21 & Over/Superbad” (another Seth Rogen penning)-ish, and the banter between Rogen and Byrne felt as though they shot another spin-off to Knocked Up (it was very “This is 40”-ish). By no means am I saying that the movie would have been enhanced by splitting them up, Mr. Starks; I am saying it would be interesting to see them focus solely on these story lines.

Sooooo, like I said earlier I’d go see it this weekend if you want to be entertained and enjoy yourself via penis humor (cockloads of them) and slapdick, excuse me, slapstick humor; and if you are skeptical about Seth MacFarlane's second outing, and need an Old School'd laugh; (MacFarlane plays heavily on shock-value humor and references (which is something that I enjoy; however, you may not enjoy this) so it's not say don't go see his movie).

Out in theaters..TODAY, you should g(WHAT A MINUTE!!! #familyguyjoke)

For a summer comedy, I would give it an A+, but for a movie I'd give it a C+ because it doesn't develop characters well (for example, Fogel (yes, I said Fogel) was underutilized) and it kind of just dwindled away pallidly at the end; this averages it out to a B+ overall. B+ for the 'burbs ain't bad for a bro-comedy; hopefully sorority girls don't move in next door **wacka wacka** sequel anyone?!?!