22 Jump Street (Lord & Miller, 2014)

Last updated on: June 30, 2014 at 8:28 pm by Kenneth R. Morefield

22 Jump Street (Lord & Miller, 2014) 2014-06-30T20:28:04-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street

I have often maintained that comedy is the hardest genre for a Christian critic to review. E.B. White once famously opined that analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog–you can do it, but the frog tends to die in the process. Remember the Eddie Murphy concert film in which the comedian stopped in the middle of his stand up routine to tell a straightforward joke because he was afraid of his audience trying to describe his act to anyone who asked what was funny about it? Explaining comedy or describing comedy is a fool’s errand.

And yet what is the alternative? I’ve long advocated that laughter is an indisputable barometer of whether a comedy worked or not. Now I am not so sure. I’ve laughed uproariously at films (such as Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life) that upon reflection I have not found particularly funny. I’ve experienced films (such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Team America: World Police) that made one audience chortle with glee only to leave another audience stoic and uncomfortable–and wondered how much of my own response was conditioned by the audience I shared the films with. I’ve sat through films I’ve found crass (The Heat) or boring (Blazing Saddles) that are esteemed by my colleagues. I have lionized films (South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut) that have sent my disapproving friends to the thesaurus to look for new synonyms for “filth.”

And I have never, ever laughed once, not a single time during multiple viewings, at Some Like It Hot.

So what can I say about 22 Jump Street other than that I laughed? A lot. At times so much I nearly cried. The set up is that Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) go undercover at Metro City State College–McState, get it?–to try to ferret out the dealer of a new drug making its way around campus. General subjects of humor: winking acknowledgments that this case (and movie) is “exactly like last time” (only more expensive), our heroes looking too old to be in college, Jenko’s political correctness about gay slurs in the midst of a giant bromance that plays homophobia for humor, a father’s ballistic reaction when he finds out his daughter is “hooking up,” crazy professors with tenure who are therefore allowed to say anything.

Are there any jokes that I can repeat in a family friendly arena? I chuckled slightly when it was suggested the campus library was a good place to conduct crime because students never go there. And I did think the bit about the unit moving from an abandoned Korean church building to a “slightly bigger” abandoned Vietnamese church across the street was clever. Honestly, though, if you are looking for clever, what made you think you were going to find it here? This is slapstick.

I have no doubt that six months from now I won’t be able to remember a single joke in 22 Jump Street. (I couldn’t remember a single thing about the first film other than who was in it.) I may not even remember that I laughed as hard as I did. At that point, I may be slightly more likely to be shamed out of my marginal thumbs up. For now, I’ll will just say that my defense of 22 Jump Street is nearly identical to my defense of Moms’ Night Out. You can make a list as long as my arm of things that are wrong with the movie, and I won’t disagree.

But I laughed.

—

Edit: The film featured a joke about comedian Tracy Morgan. I can only assume that this was in the script months in advance. Given the actor’s recent car accident, it seemed poor timing. I wondered if that gag would be cut from the DVD or if by that time the studio would assume the unfortunate context would be forgotten.

Previous Post

June 10, 2014

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit -- Now Available on DVD

Next Post

June 12, 2014 Manuscripts Don't Burn (Rasoulof, 2013)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: The entire city of Nineveh repented after Jonah preached to them.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE