21 Jump Street (2012)
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Two police officers must go undercover as high school students to stop the spread of a dangerous new drug.
The story
In 2005, unpopular-yet-scholarly student Morton Schmidt and popular-yet-underachieving athlete Greg Jenko miss their school prom. Seven years later, the duo meet again at the police academy and become friends. After graduating, they are assigned to a revived undercover program from the 1980s called 21 Jump Street. They are tasked with infiltrating Sagan High School to contain the spread of a newly-made synthetic drug called HFS. To maintain their cover, the officers are given new identities and enrolled as students, but they must navigate the complexities of high school life while attempting to identify and arrest the drug's supplier.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being assigned to the 21 Jump Street undercover program, officers Schmidt and Jenko are enrolled as students at Sagan High School to stop the distribution of a synthetic drug called HFS. They are assigned roles based on their past academic performances, but they mix up their identities. Schmidt develops a romantic interest in a classmate named Molly, while Jenko becomes involved in the school's social scene. After a series of complications, including a rift in their partnership and a failed attempt to stop a drug deal, they are expelled and fired. However, they are later recruited by the school's main dealer, Eric, to provide security for a deal at the school prom. At the prom, they discover the drug's supplier is the school's physical education teacher, Mr. Walters. A confrontation ensues with a motorcycle gang, during which they are joined by two undercover DEA agents. After a violent shootout and a chase, the officers successfully arrest Mr. Walters and Eric, and are reinstated in the program with a new assignment to infiltrate a college.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Phil Lord; Christopher Miller
- Writers
- Michael Bacall · screenplay; Michael Bacall · story; Jonah Hill · story
- Cast and characters
- Jonah Hill · Schmidt; Channing Tatum · Jenko; Brie Larson · Molly; Dave Franco · Eric; Rob Riggle · none; Ice Cube · none
- Genres
- action comedy; buddy cop; satire
- Themes
- nostalgia; identity
- Tone and mood
- comedy; action
- Premise and plot tags
- undercover; buddy cop; high school
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1987–1991 television series
- Franchise connections
- Jump Street
- Content notes
- R-rated
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 85% · scale: percentage · review count: 227; Metacritic · score: 69 · scale: 100 · review count: 41; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the top-grossing high school comedy film of all time.; The film was shot in and around New Orleans.; The naked baby pictures of Hill's character were actual pictures of Hill as a child.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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