Comedy's Newest Power Couple is Back At It in "22 Jump Street"

 
   One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time was 2012's "21 Jump Street". The combination at the time of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum was one of those pairings that almost seemed as if it was foreordained by the movie gods to be an outrageous success...and it was. The movie was clever, witty, hilarious, and didn't take itself serious, allowing it to blossom into the comedic gem it is today. This weekend marks the opening of the incredibly hyped sequel "22 Jump Street". Many wondered if the same lightning in a bottle can be captured...and I can say, it can...sort of.

   It's very rare in today's cinematic world to have a sequel be as good, if not better than the original. One of the best examples of this is "Toy Story 2". Not only was it better than the first, I feel it rivals as one of the best Pixar movies to date. In the case of "22 Jump Street", it isn't better than the first but I feel it's at least "as good" as the first. Now here's the part where I contradict myself. It's more clever, more witty, and at some points more funny, but it's still not better than the first. This probably makes no sense whatsoever, but hear me out. In essence, the weakest aspect of the movie is actually it's strongest.

(If you want to not know anything going into the movie, then stop reading now. Though I won't be discussing specific details of the plot, a more generalized discussion of the plot is about to unfold.)

   If you've seen the trailers for the movie, they advertise the story being similar to the first one. Well, (*spoiler alert*), they were right. It's the exact same story. That's where the weakest point of the movie sits. No originality. The story is pretty much the same as the first except it takes place in a different location. The "Hangover" trilogy did this with "Hangover 2", telling the exact same story as the first but instead of Las Vegas, they were in Thailand. Where "22 Jump Street" bests "Hangover 2" in the copycat battle is that "22" knows they're ripping the first and they let you know that all throughout the film. They took what was successful in the first movie, threw it into the Movie-Duplicator 3000, cranked it up 20 notches, and delivered a film that is full of the same irreverent humor and back-to-back jokes that powered the first iteration into box office success, yet doesn't leave you feeling bummed out that you watched a sequel that was practically the same as its predecessor.

   What really drives the movie is the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Playing once again the partnership of police officers Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), they truly capitalize on the insanely close relationship between the two in a way that mimics a married couple all to well. One of the absolute funniest scenes is the two of them in a couple's counseling situation. I died. A lot of the original cast was back, making it easy to get back into the world created in the first. There are plenty of laughs and it, as the first one, doesn't take itself serious; allowing it to go places you wouldn't expect.

   All in all, if you liked the first one, you'll like this one. I was laughing the whole way through. Even the gags in the trailers that we've seen over and over again still got me busting up in my seat. There's a reason why these movies work. Comedy is a difficult thing to master. It's a fickle beast that feeds on an equally fickle prey. "22 Jump Street" is hilarious. You won't be sad you saw it.