Welcome back to Rearview Mirror, where we revisit beloved movies and examine them through a 2024 lens. This month, we’re diving into 21 Jump Street, a film I enthusiastically enjoyed a decade ago, but now find myself viewing with a more critical eye. It’s not necessarily a fault of Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s direction, but rather a reflection of how much the cultural landscape has shifted since its release in 2012.
Back in the early 2010s, Hollywood was in the midst of a nostalgic revival of 1980s properties. This was the era of remakes and reboots aiming to capture the magic of the originals for a new generation. Think of the 2010 Karate Kid with Jaden Smith, or even further back, the 2009 Fame and Friday the 13th remakes. The years surrounding 21 Jump Street‘s release were packed with similar projects: The A-Team, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Footloose, Red Dawn, and Robocop, to name just a few. 21 Jump Street fit perfectly into this trend, taking a relatively obscure TV show and reimagining it as a big-screen comedy.
Released in the same year as the behemoth Avengers movie, 21 Jump Street stood out by being refreshingly smaller in scale and tone. It was a goofy, action-comedy that felt almost humble compared to the superhero mania taking over cinemas. Looking back, it’s interesting how this period attempted to balance large-scale franchises with these more lighthearted, retro-inspired films.
When 21 Jump Street first hit theaters, I was completely won over. The premise – young police officers going undercover in a high school to bust a drug ring – was simple, but the execution by Lord and Miller felt fresh and inventive. The core of the movie’s humor came from the dynamic between the two leads, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Their characters, Schmidt and Jenko, were high school opposites – a popular jock and a nerdy outcast – who became unlikely police partners. The film cleverly played with this dynamic by highlighting how high school social hierarchies had evolved.
The movie cleverly flips the expected high school stereotypes. In 2012, the film suggests, being “cool” wasn’t about macho bravado but more about kindness and awareness. Hill’s character, the once-uncool Schmidt, finds himself surprisingly popular in the modern high school environment, while Tatum’s traditionally “cool” Jenko struggles to adapt. This role reversal, reminiscent of movies like Never Been Kissed, offered a funny commentary on changing social norms and teen culture, even touching upon the burgeoning “woke” sensibilities of the time – remember the emphasis on recycling and intolerance for slurs?
The comedic set pieces in 21 Jump Street were undeniably hilarious at the time. Tatum’s exaggerated reactions while under the influence of the drugs they were investigating, and Hill’s unexpected burst of confidence leading to a rendition of “I Gotta Crow” from Peter Pan, were genuine laugh-out-loud moments. However, revisiting the movie now, a decade later, some of the humor and underlying themes land differently, particularly concerning law enforcement.
In the film’s narrative, Schmidt and Jenko are assigned to the Jump Street unit as a form of punishment after mishandling an arrest by forgetting to read a suspect his Miranda Rights. While this was presented as a comedic blunder in 2012, in today’s climate, it evokes a different reaction. Public perception of law enforcement has significantly shifted. Audiences are now more critical and skeptical of police actions, even when portrayed in a comedic context. Police incompetence, even if played for laughs, is less easily digestible in a post-2020 world.
It’s not about being overly sensitive, but acknowledging the evolving social context. Certain elements of 21 Jump Street simply resonate differently now than they did upon release, reflecting broader societal shifts in attitudes towards authority and law enforcement.
Another aspect of 21 Jump Street that feels somewhat dated is the portrayal of the relationship between Schmidt and Molly (Brie Larson). Initially, watching it again, one might misremember Molly as an older, college-aged character, perhaps a teacher. However, the film clarifies that Molly is a high school student, and the movie culminates in a romantic kiss between her and the much older Schmidt (Jonah Hill was 28 during filming, while Larson was 22, portraying a high schooler). While the film explicitly states Molly is 18, the dynamic between a 25-year-old undercover cop and an 18-year-old student now raises eyebrows in a way it arguably didn’t in 2012.
While not suggesting anything overtly inappropriate, the romantic subplot feels somewhat uncomfortable when viewed through today’s lens of heightened awareness regarding age gaps and power dynamics, especially in high school settings. Even if both characters are technically legal adults, the context of an undercover officer infiltrating a high school and forming a romantic connection with a student feels less lighthearted and more ethically murky in retrospect.
Finally, the much-hyped Johnny Depp cameo, which was a major selling point at the time, now carries a different weight. The reveal of Depp and Peter DeLuise reprising their roles from the original 21 Jump Street TV series was intended as a nostalgic and crowd-pleasing moment. Articles at the time even lauded Depp’s willingness to do the cameo, painting him in a positive light. However, in the intervening years, Depp’s public image has undergone significant shifts. Knowing what we know now, the cameo feels less like a fun throwback and more like a reminder of how quickly public perception and cultural icons can change.
Looking ahead, I haven’t revisited 22 Jump Street, the sequel that moves the action to college. My recollection is that it was also funny, and perhaps its different setting and storylines have aged more gracefully. The point isn’t to condemn 21 Jump Street outright. Comedies, by their nature, are often time-capsules, reflecting the humor and social anxieties of their era. Humor styles evolve, and what was considered hilarious a decade ago can feel awkward or even inappropriate today. Think about the prevalence of gay-panic jokes in 90s and 2000s sitcoms – once considered comedic gold, they now largely fall flat and are viewed as insensitive.
Even seemingly apolitical comedic sequences, like the drug trip montage in 21 Jump Street, don’t elicit the same level of laughter upon re-watching. Comparing it to the drug-induced humor in Knocked Up (2007), the latter still feels fresh because its humor is rooted in character development and emotional reactions, rather than just a series of predictable, goofy scenarios. Human emotions and relatable character arcs tend to have more staying power than topical humor or references tied to a specific moment in time. 21 Jump Street remains a funny movie, but its comedic impact is undeniably lessened by the shifting sands of time and cultural change.
