Review No.44: 21 Jump Street

Off to the Stafford Apollo again for another cheap Tuesday screening which was completely empty apart from myself and my two friends. This was good in a way as we were able to laugh like idiots at 21 Jump Street without being judged by any other members of the general public. The film is a recreation of a 1980s US TV show, which is only really known on these shores for bringing Johnny Depp into prominence, and sees two youthful-looking cops going undercover at a high school to infiltrate various crimes. In the case of the film it is Jonah Hill's Schmidt and Channing Tatum's Jenko who are former high school foes turned police academy friends and finally bicycle cop partners. After failing to arrest a gang of drug dealing bikers the pair are placed in the scheme run by Ice Cube's angry black Captain Dickson and assigned to a high school in which a dangerous drug is being dealt and manufactured. After swapping identities the reserved Schmidt is forced to join the drama society where he falls for the quirky Molly while the dumb Jenko is forced into AP Chemistry. It isn't soon before high school rules are swapped and Schmidt falls in with the cool gang while Jenko befriends his fellow science nerds learning that the kids he once bullied are actually quite cool. The drugs plot finally comes to a head during prom night with the final sequence featuring a surprise cameo and the usual predictable outcomes of the main protagonists using the new skills they have acquired during their time at the school.

As I said throughout the film myself and my friends were laughing prefusely and that's mainly due to the comic timing displayed by both Hill and more surprisingly Tatum. In my last review I blasted Tatum for not really having any skill but here he demonstrates that he's best when playing the straight guy in a comedy double act with the more reliable Hill getting the bulk of the joke lines. A lot of the humour is delivered in a knowing way especially when Ice Cube is pointing out the stereotypes on display and the rehashing of old plotlines. There are also some broadly comic sequences in particular a car chase which features a lot of different cars being stolen and Jonah Hill clad in a Peter Pan outfit. There are also some excellent supporting characters including Bridesmaids' Ellie Kemper as the chemistry teacher who is attracted to Jenko and the OTT drama teacher played by Chris Parnell best known to 30 Rock fans as Dr Spaceman. However behind the laughs there is also a sweetness to 21 Jump Street thanks to the great chemistry between Hill and Tatum and it is their central relationship which is key to the film in fact I would go as far as to say that this was a bromanitc comedy. The relationship between Schmidt and Molly is also very well done and we can see for the first time that this loser might have a shot with a girl while Jenko's relationship with the science nerds is also sweet-natured especially his final speech to class. My only problem was the final third when the plot had to be resolved and the revelation of who the supplier was really didn't surprise anyone but even during this time there were enough laughs to keep you distracted from the dodgy plotting. I have to say this is a film that I liked a lot more than I thought I would with Hill redeeming himself after the woeful The Sitter and Tatum demonstrating where his acting skill actually lies.

Verdict: Despite an unsatisfying conclusion this is a very funny film that is made all the more better thanks to great chemistry between its two brilliant leads 7.5/10

Review No.8: Rampart

A couple of year's ago I happened upon a film called The Messengers it didn't really do much box office here in the UK but it did get some awards buzz for Woody Harrelson who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. In Rampart Harrelson is reunited with director Oren Moverman as well as co-stars Ben Foster and Steve Buscemi to play Dave Brown a Los Angeles Police Officer who is described as the last renegade police officer. Brown is involved in the infamous Rampart scandal in which many officers were accused and tried of various crimes including unprovoked beatings and shootings both of which we see Brown engage in throughout the film. Brown's notoriety has come through his gunning down of a man accused of being a serial date rapist and as a result he has been given the name Date Rape Dave something his elder daughter revels in calling him. Throughout the film Dave beats up someone who rams into his car and later stages being attacked to take the heat off of him trying to take money during an illegal card game. As the story progresses Dave's lies and his life start to unravel as he isn't able to manipulate people the way he used to do.

The main problem with Rampart was that I never really warmed to the character of Dave who is someone that is constantly trying to get out of situations by bribing people or talking down to them and by his own admission doesn't like anybody. Harrelson was so great in The Messengers because he was part of a double act with Ben Foster but here Foster has a minor role and Woody is on the screen in almost every scene. He does a good job with what he's given but the script is riddled with stereotypes and tries to emulate the old noirish crime films of the 1970s but fails miserably. The moody lighting and mumbling characters only really works if the story is strong enough to back it up but I didn't really feel like that ever happened during Rampart. There are also some wildly miscast actors including Sigourney Weaver as Dave's police chief and Ice Cube as the man trying to bring him to justice. What I did like was Dave's relationship with his two daughters and I thought both Harrelson and the two young actresses were able to get across this complicated situation very well. But I never really warmed to Rampart because I found it slow-moving and very one dimensional which is a shame as I was really expecting to enjoy another film from the team behind The Messengers but this wasn't to be the case.

Verdict: Mainly down to Harrelson's performance this gets a 4/10