21 JUMP STREET: Embrace Your Stereotypes

21 Jump Street (2012) – Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller – Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Ellie Kemper, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, Peter DeLuise, Holly Robinson Peete, and Johnny Depp.

There’s a lot going against 21 JUMP STREET – it stars Jonah Hill (who I honestly think I’d rather see doing quirky dramas like Moneyball instead of silly comedies) and Channing Tatum (who I never remember being intentionally funny before) in a comedic update of a TV show from the ’80s. Making things tougher on the film (though none of this is JUMP STREET’s fault), I was watching it in an old, semi-crowded theater on a crappy print. (It was the 10 PM show at the $3 casino cinema.) I’d heard good things about it, but I didn’t have high expectations.

Five minutes in, I was hooked.

21 JUMP STREET is an incredibly funny movie that does a smart thing – it tells a simple story very effectively, building most of the plot elements around the triangulation of Schmidt and Jenko’s job as police officers, the high school location of the their undercover investigation, and Schmidt and Jenko’s insecurities.

Let me say that again in case you skimmed over it – 21 JUMP STREET is an incredibly funny movie, and I come away from this film as impressed with Jonah Hill as I did after Moneyball. Hill co-wrote JUMP STREET with Michael Bacall (who also co-wrote the excellent Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and they keep their script focused and driven, making the humor serve the story instead of simply stringing together a bunch of funny bits. Hill also wisely casts himself in the straighter role, allowing Tatum to handle more of the outrageous comedy.

Hill and Tatum make an interesting duo – they have the typical cinematic tall guy and fat guy bit look down, but unlike Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Spade and Farley, Hill and Tatum largely invert the stereotype, with the fat one being the practical one and the skinny one being the dummy. (And, yeah, I hate to use such base terms and paint with such a broad brush, but this is a pretty standard comedic configuration.) It works, too, because Hill is very good at playing a the put-upon guy who’s personal pain serves as the basis for the film’s comedic debasement of him, and Tatum is very good as the popular guy who’s used to doing the debasing.

Schmidt and Jenko (Hill and Tatum) went to high school together, but were on opposite sides of the cool line. Neither one of them got to go to the prom – Schmidt because no one would go with him and Jenko because his poor grades got him barred.

Years later, they unwittingly enroll in the police academy at the same. “Hey, Not-So-Slim Shady!” Jenko calls out, a reference to Schmidt’s Eminem-inspired look in high school. Very quickly, they realize they can help each other since Schmidt isn’t so good with the physical (being overweight) and Jenko isn’t so good with the tests (being dumb). Before we know it, they’ve both passed the Academy and been made partners.

Impressively, JUMP STREET moves through all of this set-up efficiently. The two guys are bike cops and they screw up a bust and they get kicked over into the Jump Street program, where they meet Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at an abandoned church that serves as the program’s headquarters. Dickson sends them back to high school, but because Jenko can’t remember his cover identity, he ends up having to live as the science nerd and Schmidt gets enrolled in drama. It’s another smart twist, having these two guys live high school over, but this time from the other’s point of view.

Not only is the script smart, but the casting and acting is top notch. Ice Cube totally embraces the “angry black captain” stereotype, and Hill and Bacall’s script uses these stereotypes to its benefit, having Dickson address them directly. “Yeah, I’m black!” he shouts at them from the pulpit. “I worked hard to get where I am, and yes, sometimes I get angry!” After dressing Schmidt and Jenko down over their types, he tells them to “embrace your stereotypes!”

Which they then almost immediately screw up and have to live life as the other one.

There’s plenty of stupid humor here – the guys end up getting tricked into using drugs, they purposely throw a huge party at Schmidt’s parent’s house, the bad guy ends up getting his dick blown off, which he then tries to pick up with his mouth – but there’s also clever humor, too, like when Schmidt starts hitting on a high school girl (they make a point to tell you she’s 18), but does it anachronistically, calling her instead of texting her.

In a move the film didn’t have to make, but did, 21 JUMP STREET is set in the same continuity as the TV show – it’s just 25 years later and everything’s seen through a comedic lens. Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, and Holly Robinson Peete all return to reprise their roles from the TV show, and it’s a nice touch that probably 90% of the people in the theater completely missed. Maybe they knew Depp used to be in the show, but it’s not like DeLuise and Peete’s involvement got the crowd hootering and hollering in approval. Even “Jenko” is a shout-out to the original captain of the Jump Street program, who only lasted

JUMP STREET was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directing duo who made the excellent Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and they display a wonderful gift for balancing the comedic with the dramatic.

I saw 21 JUMP STREET Saturday night and then went to a different theater to see Men in Black 3 on Monday (review coming shortly), and it’s not even close as to which was the better movie. I laughed more times and with greater intensity in the first 15-20 minutes of JUMP STREET than I did in the entire length of MIB3. At the end of JUMP STREET, they tease a set-up for a sequel where Schmidt and Jenko go to college, and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing it.

CASA DE MI PADRE: Do You Speak American?

Casa de Mi Padre (2012) – Directed by Matt Piedmont – Starring Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Génesis Rodríguez, Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Nick Offerman, Efren Ramirez, and Adrian Martinez.

CASA DE MI PADRE est un film pris quelque part entre gimmick et de la parodie, et le résultat est un film parvient à être à la fois très bon et plutôt ennuyeux, en même temps.

CASA est une comédie dans le style dit telenovela. Je sais que parce que chaque examen ou débat autour du film dit: «telenovela». Je n’ai jamais vu plus de quelques minutes de toute telenovela particulier, si mon plaisir de la CASA pourrait être entravé (ou aidé, pour autant que je sache) par ce manque de familiarité. Ce que je sais, c’est que CASA est la comédie qui n’a pas rit de très nombreux, mais ne parviennent à être légèrement intéressant. Il a un peu de ce Grindhouse se sentent à lui en ce que le film de fissures à l’occasion ou apparaît pour vous laisser savoir que vous regardez quelque chose avec un budget limité.

Il ya un peu de déconnecter ici entre la performance Ferrell et le reste du film, qui est fait à dessein, mais pas toujours effectivement rendu. Ferrell joue Armando Alvarez, le fils éleveur de Senor Alvarez (Pedro Armendariz, Jr.), qui est fier de sa non-élevage, super réussie, et (comme il s’avère) de trafic de drogue fils Raul (Diego Luna). Raul est rentré chez lui pour annoncer qu’il va se marier à Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez), mais aussi secrètement développer son activité dans le trafic de drogue Onza de (Gael García Bernal) territoire. Armando ne pense pas assez bonne Sonia pour son frère parce qu’elle n’est pas amoureuse de lui, mais il n’aime pas non plus que son frère est un trafiquant de drogue.

Ferrell joue Armando relativement simple, il a quelques bizarreries qui génèrent l’humour, mais beaucoup de rires les viennent de jouer Armando trop dramatique.

Je donne Ferrell et réalisateur Matt Piémont crédit pour se rendre compte que le truc ici – CASA est un film en langue espagnole, y compris une partie Ferrell – ne suffit pas à propulser un film entier, de sorte qu’ils ne mettre un peu d’effort dans de nous donner une histoire. Le problème, c’est qu’il ya il ya quelques morceaux vraiment drôles, absurdes (comme le film de geler le mouvement pour nous dire qu’ils avaient filmé une séquence d’action vraiment super entre une panthère et un coyote, mais ils ne pouvaient pas le montrer à cause des membres d’équipage sont morts), mais certains sur le mélodrame supérieur (qui je pense est le bit de telenovela) et les deux de ceux-ci font CASA un film qui ne permet pas toujours aider tout au long, qui se sent souvent comme ça se combat.

Il ya beaucoup de violence dans le film qui me fait penser qu’ils auraient été mieux de faire un film qui parodie quelque chose comme machette avec caractère littéral Ferrell dans le milieu d’un lot de folie.

Avec tout cela étant dit, cependant, il ya quelque chose d’admirable sur la CASA DE MI PADRE. Je comprends que Ferrell est en place pour essayer quelque chose de nouveau et il ya des moments où l’histoire de la CASA fait vraiment pour une montre d’engagement, surtout quand américaine DEA Agent Parker (Nick Offerman) arrive pour essayer d’obtenir des barons de la drogue mexicains à s’entre-tuer. En fait, les meilleures parties du film sont lorsque le conflit mexicaine / américaine est soit sur l’écran ou en cours de discussion. Armando n’est pas heureux avec des médicaments qui traitent de Raul, mais Raul lui dit qu’il vient de le vendre aux Américains, alors c’est correct. De même, Parker ne pense pas que la justice veut dire quelque chose ici-bas parce que c’est juste Mexicains Mexicains meurtre. Avec Ferrell au milieu du conflit mexicaine / américaine, CASA a du mordant réel pour elle.

Dans le casting est tout solide, en particulier Nick Offerman et Génesis Rodríguez, mais ce n’est film Ferrell tout autant que Talladega Nights ou vedette .

CASA DE MI PADRE vaut certainement la peine d’une montre, mais finalement c’est un film que j’admire de plus pour sa tentative de son exécution.

1. Thank you, Google Translate.
2. Yes. I know. That’s French.
3. Because it’s funnier that way. Ferrell admitted on The Daily Show that he learned his lines, not Spanish, so there wasn’t much improvisation.
3. I really have no idea if Google Translate did a good job or not. I totally blame their programming as much as my own laziness if it doesn’t make sense.
4. Here’s the subtitled version:

CASA DE MI PADRE is a film caught somewhere between gimmick and parody, and the result is a film manages to be both pretty good and rather tedious at the same time.

CASA is a comedy told in telenovela style. I know that because every review or discussion of the film says, “telenovela.” I’ve never watched more than a few minutes of any particular telenovela, so my enjoyment of CASA might be hindered (or helped, for all I know) by this lack of familiarity. What I do know is that CASA is comedy that doesn’t have very many laughs, but does manage to be mildly interesting. It’s got a bit of that Grindhouse feel to it in that the film occasionally cracks or pops to let you know that you’re watching something with a limited budget.

There’s a bit of disconnect here between Ferrell’s performance and the rest of the film, which is purposely done but not always effectively rendered. Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez, the rancher son of Senor Alvarez (Pedro Armendáriz, Jr.), who’s prouder of his non-ranching, super successful, and (as it turns out) drug-dealing son Raul (Diego Luna). Raul has come home to announce he’s getting married to Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez), but also to secretly expand his drug dealing business into Onza’s (Gael García Bernal) territory. Armando doesn’t think Sonia’s good enough for his brother because she’s not in love with him, but he also doesn’t like that his brother is a drug dealer.

Ferrell plays Armando relatively straight; he has some quirks that generate humor but a lot of the laughs come from playing Armando overly dramatic.

I give Ferrell and director Matt Piedmont credit for realizing that the gimmick here – CASA is a Spanish-language film, including Ferrell’s part – isn’t enough to propel an entire movie, so they do put some effort into giving us a story. The problem is that there there’s some really funny, absurd bits (like the film freezing the action to tell us that they had filmed a really great action sequence between a panther and a coyote but they couldn’t show it because crew members died), but then some over the top melodrama (which I guess is the telenovela bit) and the two of these make CASA a movie that doesn’t always help itself along, that often feels like it’s fighting itself.

There’s a lot of violence in the film that makes me think they would have been better off doing a film that parodied something like MACHETE with Ferrell’s literal character in the middle of a lot of craziness.

With all that being said, however, there is something admirable about CASA DE MI PADRE. I appreciate that Ferrell is up for trying something new and there are times when CASA’s story really makes for an engaging watch, especially when American DEA Agent Parker (Nick Offerman) arrives to try and get the Mexican drug lords to kill each other. In fact, the best parts of the film are when the Mexican/American conflict is either on display or being discussed. Armando isn’t happy with Raul dealing drugs, but Raul tells him he’s just selling it to Americans, so it’s okay. Likewise, Parker doesn’t think justice means anything down here because it’s just Mexicans killing Mexicans. With Ferrell in the middle of the Mexican/American conflict, CASA has some real bite to it.

The supporting cast is all solid, especially Nick Offerman and Génesis Rodríguez, but this is Ferrell’s movie every bit as much as Talladega Nights or Anchorman.

CASA DE MI PADRE is certainly worth a watch, but ultimately it’s a film that I admire more for its attempt than its execution.