My good friend and I sat down and watched this film last week and I thought it definitely deserved a closer look. For the sensitive, this film contains a considerable amount of cursing and some pervasive innuendo. Definitely not for children.
Moving beyond that, this one's a sequel, which is an extremely tricky thing to do, especially for a comedy. This one takes the route less traveled. Just as 21 Jump Street made fun of itself slyly for being a reboot of an old TV show, this film consistently pokes fun at itself for all of the cliches and issues that come along with being a sequel. This is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. A good portion of the film is filled with jokes that compare the police operation with a movie. Jokes about an inflated budget quickly blown on nonsense and the lack of creative insight and courage to try something new are a huge element of the film, far bigger than its predecessor.
But it is an immensely funny film, not least because these jokes, which hurt the film at times by being too pervasive, are at times the funniest moments. Other great moments revolve around the brilliant portrayal of the idiot jock by Channing Tatum and his new frat-boy compatriot, Wyatt Russell. Add to this the continuing beauty of the dynamic between Channing and Jonah, as well as the apt comic stylings of Ice Cube, and you've got a film that flies very close to the original. The aforementioned overdoing of the sequel joke and the sloppy-even-though-satirized repetition keep it from getting a 9.5 for wit. Also Amber Stevens doesn't match up to Brie Larson.
One last thing. Rob Riggle's part in this film was really disappointing certainly because it was needlessly vulgar, but more because it made no sense. I keep realizing I have more, but I'll give it a break because it really is hilarious nearly from beginning to end.
For wisdom, it is again bad news. Like the last one, this definitely deserves the customary -.25 for sex. People in this world disagree greatly with me about sex and this film is no different. Casual hookups, bragging about 'conquests,' etc. Beyond that, the fraternity scene in all its drunken, hazing glory is unsettling to me. The lightness with which hardcore drugs are being dealt at times is frustrating as well. One of its few surprisingly bright moments is Patton Oswalt's professor character helping to undermine the effectiveness of America's "War on Drugs" policy.
Like too much of the positive ideas this movie might pursue, it's cast to the wayside, never to be revisited. And at times, positive ground covered in the earlier installment is lost. Channing's acceptance of his geekiness and passion for things, Jonah's thing with Brie Larson's character, which is conveniently never mentioned again. Not a lot great to say as far as wisdom goes, but it doesn't fall so far as to deface anything sacred and it still works as a buddy-cop movie, so I'll leave it at 8.25.
The wonder is 9, like the last one, because it adds a bit and loses a bit, but gets most of the basics right.
I hope I didn't get too ranty. I appreciate your reading and I hope to be back with something new soon. Enjoy!
