21 Jump Street - 7 stars out of 10

21 Jump Street - 7 stars out of 10

"21 Jump Street" is another installment in the recent trend of overly-crude comedies, but is surprisingly good with a clever script that keeps you guessing.  Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum establish excellent chemistry from the very start and humorously play off of each other for the duration of the film.  One of the more entertaining aspects of the film is that their false identities are switched so the nerd ends up in the slacker classes and the jock ends up in the smart classes.  The initial joke is funny itself but ends up playing a vital role in both actors' character development.  The script manages to put the actors into humorous situations while maintaining a smooth flow to the story.  There aren't any moments when you think "They put them at his parents' house just so that they could show some embarassing pictures."  While the quality of acting isn't at a Shawshank level, the supporting cast enhances the comedy (particularly Ellie Kemper).  Even though he has a very minor role, Ice Cube has some of the most memorable moments of the film while Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise sneak in with a clever cameo.  The number of f-words that were used for the sake of using the f-word really bothered me.  Most of the language is unnecessary, even though it seems to appeal to teenagers for some reason.  "21 Jump Street" is a great film, but it is worth waiting until it airs on TBS so that you don't have to sit through its cacophony of shock-value profanity.