21 Jump Street and Chocolate Redemption

I thought 21 Jump Street was going to be a half-baked movie, full of drab jokes, but it turned out I had no idea what I was talking about.  This movie rocked the laughs so much that I went back and saw it again.

I'll just refer to the first experience, which includes a difficult chocolate episode.   We went in without remembering to snag some Jones Soda or decent chocolate beforehand.  Yikes.

We ended up grabbing a combo that included popcorn, fountain pop, and a candy I used enjoyed while growing up redneck in Hick Town Canada, called Rolo.  Well, the truth of the matter is, that chocolate is sub par compared to what I snack on now. It barely had any flavour and although it didn't burn my throat like a lot of other cheap mainstream chocolate, it was so bland that after the movie, I went to Laura Secord and bought a giant Easter egg to help my tongue recover from the how ordeal.

I've reviewed the same egg here before, but in a smaller size.  Of course, it tasted delicious compared to that other stuff.

Anyway, back to the movie.  It opened up with Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) as these two high school enemies that forge a friendship in the police academy in order to survive until graduation.  They go on to be bumbling cops stuck on chump assignments and eventually find their way into the old 21 Jump Street assignment of the 1980s TV show.

The entire time, the movie laughed at itself and the unbelievable premise that these guys were passable as high school students.  Something to note here, even Schmidt's crush, Molly, played by Brie Larson, didn't come across as a teen, at least, for me.  The only main character who did was James Franco's little brother, Dave, who did an excellent job as high school year book editor slash drug dealer.

Unlike the original TV show, these guys look and appear too old and out of the loop for the high school scene.  I remember Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, and Holly Robinson, who have cameos here, as baby-faced cops that fit in.  Course, that was many many moons ago, so maybe I'm off with my assessment.

But that's part of the point, since it's a humorous send up of the whole concept.  Even the fictional drug, HFS, that looks like a church wafer with a pic of a pile of shit and a halo over it, lampoons the drug culture.

The attention to minute details in the film, such as the wafers, add to the high quality presentation.  A shiny Z28 Camaro, almost like the one I used to drive, Johnny Depp's long haired biker disguise, and even the villain's um, appendage, all got the right reaction from me.

One of the best elements of the movie, for somebody like me, who grew up in the late 80s and 90s, had to be Ice Cube, who rocked it as the stereotypical angry police chief, Capt. Dickson.  What a d*ck.  Yeah.

Ice Cube was part of N.W.A. which was big during the airing of the original 21 Jump Street.  Back then, a lot of us kids listened to the group.  And if you came from anti-establishment, like I did, you took on several of their anthems, like F*ck tha Police.  Jump Street's soundtrack includes songs like their Straight Outta Compton.  As backdrop to Schmidt's Slip Shady wannabe getup in his high school days, Eminem's The Real Slim Shady is also included.

So we've got lots of humor, fast paced gut-busting action, cameos from the original crew, kick-a** music, and oh yeah, several silly subplots like a play that Schmidt wants to star in and the stages of an HFS trip.

It's all good.

21 Jump Street:  10 / 10  - Nothing but praise here.  Try it, you might be surprised at how much you laugh.  And you definitely don't need prior Jump Street experience to enjoy it!

Rolo:  3 / 10 - You know I'm being too generous here.

Laura Secord egg:   8.9 / 10  -  This chocolate came through for me when I really needed it.