22 Jump Street is every bit as good as the first film, with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill proving to be a comedy duo that is tough to beat.

***Warning: Spoilers throughout this surprisingly short co-review from Lauren and Zac***

Zac: This sequel to 21 Jump Street knows exactly how insane it is that this series is a comedy franchise in the making, and the lighthearted ribbing it constantly makes towards that path is wonderfully realized throughout the film.  The film is constantly poking fun at the nature of sequels and the tropes the film should go through, but it also doesn’t shy away from skewering other genres as well; most importantly, the romantic comedy. They redefine the bromance here and blow open the absurdity that comes with it.

But for all the tropes the film plays with, it is a joy mainly because it is so damn funny.

Lauren: I was definitely skeptical when I heard that this film was very self aware because that can get old fast. But as great as the percentage of writing is towards making fun of itself and the genre (trust me, it’s a high percentage), it never gets stale. Nick Offerman really starts it off with a great speech about the bigger budget funding this program, and the jokes just keep on from then on out.

And that bromance… It’s not hard to imagine that I have no trouble loving anything with Channing my Tatum involved, but Jonah Hill is just as important in this power couple. Neither is put into a certain role in the typical outlandish vs straight man as it was with The Other Guys; they’re both just within the realm of believable with a strong side of WTF. I give a lot of credit to these guys, as well as the writers, director, etc., because we’ve all seen what goes wrong when you just do the same thing. But this is no Hangover series. Here they embrace the same story, point it out every moment they can, and then continue to do so much more with it.

Zac: You watch your tongue around The Other Guys.

The film does a great job of giving you the same thing, but then flipping it at every turn along the way. The subplot with Jonah Hill and his romantic interest caught me off guard, but then surprised me by being good for the best laughs of the film. And it’s not just the easy angles either, they take a run at it from almost every way possible, and it works almost every time.

I am also with you on Tatum, I can just watch him all day in just about everything he does. The idiotically brilliant Jenko is just the perfect lovable idiot, and the way that he bounces of Hill is just some of the best buddy chemistry out there. I really liked how they played up the physical disparity between the two as well this time out. And for how great they are together, they are nearly as strong when they are apart; I just want some more Jenko girl flinging fighting style.

Lauren:  All I could think about in that scene was how much that has to hurt her ankles!  Granted she’s probably drunk, so she won’t really feel it until tomorrow.  You can have that; I’ll take more of the other coed fight that happens around the same time between Schmidt and the revealed drug dealer.  He was so trying to kiss her!  (No he wasn’t).  Then again, now that we’ve got baby Captain in the mix you might get your wish next time.  Just think of that love triangle!  Schmidt will try to fling her around in all the ways you want to emulate Jenko, and it’s just going to be a tragedy.

All I know is they better get to construction on the lot next door on Jump Street.

Zac: Agreed, though are they going to jump to 2121 Jump Street based on the credits?

Lauren:  I hope not.  I want to see all that the credits had to offer fleshed out.  And so will you.

Zac and Lauren’s Final Grade: B+