Starring: Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill

New to the police force, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are ready to be “badasses” like Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” To their surprise, they are assigned to ride bikes around a park. They enforce rules like “don’t feed the ducks” and make conversation with people walking around the lake. They get excited when they see a motorcycle gang smoking marijuana.

Despite making their first arrest, they mess it up by forgetting to read the criminal his Miranda Rights. After a conversation with the police chief, Schmidt and Jenko are put undercover as high school students in the “Jump Street” program. As undercover students, they are assigned to discover the supplier of a new drug before it gets out of the school.

Things quickly go wrong when they forget their cover names. Jenko, the jock, is assigned an upper level schedule with classes like AP Chemistry, (he pronounces it “app” chemistry) and Schmidt gets the easy schedule of a jock, going to art and drama classes. These schedules cause them to befriend new groups that they made fun of in high school. Jenko begins to hang out with the chemistry nerds, and Schmidt begins to fit in with the cool kids. The more and more they learn about the other’s lifestyle, the closer they become as friends.

Although school goes well for them, they are awful as police officers. After several weeks they don’t have any leads and have nothing to report. A fight on stage causes them to be fired as police officers, and they are dropped from the case. While cleaning out their stuff they accidentally discovered evidence that gives them a lead on the case. No longer police officers, they must work as vigilantes to solve the case and bring the drug suppliers to justice.

This movie was much funnier than I expected. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum do a good job poking fun at high school and doing ridiculously funny things in the process (like mowing the yard in a prom tux). The movie also pokes fun at high-speed action movies. While in a car chase, they are surprised when they can’t get a gas tanker or a truck carrying flammable gasses to explode, saying “Dang, I really thought that one would explode.” Of course, a truck carrying a bunch of chickens explodes sky high during a crash.

I was also impressed that the high school scenery didn’t drag down the film. I was worried that the movie was meant for a younger, high school demographic, but it is really meant for the older, 20-year-old crowd. On the first day of school they are walking through the parking lot and Channing Tatum becomes confused listing off the different groups of students. He notices the jocks, the nerds, the cheerleaders and goths, but can’t figure out who the hipsters are.

I thought the movie was pretty funny. It’s guaranteed to make you laugh at least once. Unfortunately the plot was lacking at times, the movie pretty much ran on its humor. I would recommend it if you want a good laugh, but it’s not a movie you will see more than once.