22 Jump Street is a 2014 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. Ice Cube and Peter Stormare also star. It is the second film in the Jump Street franchise and a sequel to the 2012 film 21 Jump Street, which is based on the television series of the same name. The plot follows police officers Schmidt and Jenko as they go undercover at a college in order to find the supplier of a new drug.
Plans for a Jump Street sequel began the week of the first film's release. Hill and Tatum were quickly confirmed to be reprising their roles, while Miller and Lord announced they'd be returning to direct in July 2013. Filming took place from September to December of that same year in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico.
22 Jump Street premiered on June 4, 2014, in New York City, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 13 by Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM). It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $331 million worldwide. A third film, 24 Jump Street, with Hill, Tatum, and Cube returning, is in development.
Plot Two years following their success in the 21 Jump Street program, Schmidt and Jenko are back on the streets investigating narcotics trafficking. However, after failing in the pursuit of a group of drug dealers led by a kingpin known as "The Ghost", Deputy Chief Hardy puts the duo back on the undercover program to work for Captain Dickson – now located across the street at 22 Jump Street. Their assignment is to go undercover as college students and locate the supplier of a synthetic drug known as "WHY-PHY" ("Work Hard? Yes, Play Hard? Yes") that killed a student photographed buying it on campus from a dealer.
At college, Jenko befriends a pair of jocks named Zook and Rooster, who soon become the prime suspects of the investigation. Jenko starts attending parties with the jocks who do not take as kindly to Schmidt. Meanwhile, Schmidt gets the attention of an art student, Maya, by feigning an interest in slam poetry. After hitting it off immediately, the two have sex together, to the chagrin of Maya's roommate Mercedes, and Schmidt later finds out that Maya is the daughter of Captain Dickson, whom Schmidt bragged to about "getting laid", much to his dismay. Despite sleeping together, Maya tells Schmidt not to take it seriously, and he starts to feel left out as Jenko bonds more and more with Zook who encourages him to join the football team.
When Schmidt and Jenko are unable to identify the dealer, they visit Mr. Walters and Eric in prison for advice (with Eric being in a forced relationship with Mr. Walters, who received a vagina after Schmidt shot his penis off), and Walters points out a unique tattoo on the arm of the dealer in the photograph. Whilst hanging out with Zook and Rooster, Jenko notices that Rooster does not have the tattoo but sees it on Zook's arm. Schmidt and Jenko are invited to join a fraternity led by the jocks, but Schmidt refuses, furthering the tension between the two as Jenko passes their requirements. They later realize that Zook is not the dealer but rather another customer. Soon afterwards, they find The Ghost and his men on campus, but The Ghost again evades them. Jenko reveals to Schmidt that he has been offered a football scholarship with Zook and is uncertain about his future as a police officer. A chase ensues around campus, with Jenko and Schmidt commandeering a golf cart which they crash into a football match. Schmidt later reveals his true identity and moves out of the dorm, angering Maya.
Spring break arrives, and Schmidt goes after The Ghost. He is joined by Jenko, so the two can have one final mission together. The pair head to the beach where The Ghost is likely to be dealing WHY-PHY. Inside a bar, they find Mercedes, who is The Ghost's daughter, giving instructions to other dealers. The pair, backed up by Dickson and the rest of Jump Street, ambush the meeting, causing the Ghost to flee and Mercedes to take Dickson as a hostage. Schmidt chases after Mercedes, and after a scuffle apprehends her with the help of Dickson and Maya. The Ghost attempts to escape in a helicopter; Schmidt and Jenko manage to jump across to it and both let go, where Jenko then throws a grenade into the helicopter. The Ghost celebrates his victory prematurely while the grenade detonate, killing him. Jenko tells Schmidt that he still wants to be a police officer as he believes their differences help their partnership, and the two reconcile in front of a cheering crowd. Dickson approaches them claiming to have a new mission undercover at a medical school.
During the end credits, Jenko and Schmidt go on a variety of undercover missions to different schools, which are portrayed as 21 fictional sequels, one in which Schmidt is played by Seth Rogen (which only Jenko seemed to notice) after a contract dispute with Jonah Hill; an animated series; a video game; an electronic target game; and a toy line. One mission features Detective Booker while another sees the return of The Ghost, who somehow survived the helicopter explosion. The post-credits scene shows Eric and Mr. Walters lying in bed together, with Mr. Walters suggesting that he's pregnant with Eric's child.
Cast
Jonah Hill as Morton Schmidt Channing Tatum as Greg Jenko Peter Stormare as The Ghost Wyatt Russell as Zook Haythe Amber Stevens as Maya Dickson Jillian Bell as Mercedes Ice Cube as Captain Dickson Keith Lucas as Keith Yang Kenny Lucas as Kenny Yang Nick Offerman as Deputy Chief Hardy Jimmy Tatro as Rooster Craig Roberts as Spencer Marc Evan Jackson as Dr. Murphy Queen Latifah as Mrs. Dickson (uncredited) Diplo as Himself Dustin Nguyen as Vietnamese Jesus Richard Grieco as Dennis Booker Dave Franco as Eric Molson (uncredited) Rob Riggle as Mr. Walters (uncredited) H. Jon Benjamin as MCS Football Coach (uncredited) Patton Oswalt as MC State History Professor (uncredited) Bill Hader as Culinary School Villain (uncredited) Anna Faris as Anna (uncredited) Seth Rogen as a Morton Schmidt replacement actor (uncredited)
Production On March 17, 2012, Sony Pictures announced that it was pursuing a sequel to 21 Jump Street, signing a deal that would see Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall return to write a script treatment that would be again developed by Bacall and undergo rewrites by Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman. The film was originally scheduled to be released on June 6, 2014. On May 8, 2013, it was announced that the film would be pushed back a week until June 13, 2014. In June 2013, it was announced the film would be titled 22 Jump Street. In July 2013, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller confirmed they would return to direct the film. On September 6, 2013, Amber Stevens joined the cast of the film. On September 27, 2013, Kurt Russell mentioned that his son Wyatt turned down a role in The Hunger Games sequels to star in 22 Jump Street. Principal photography began on September 28, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was also followed by location shots in San Juan, Puerto Rico (standing in for the fictional "Puerto Mexico" for the spring break scenes), and ended on December 15, 2013. On-campus scenes featuring the fictional MC State were filmed on the uptown campus of Tulane University.
According to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in the home release commentary, they wanted Cate Blanchett for the end credits sequence in a cameo appearance as a follow-up to the carte blanche joke, but she was busy with Carol, The Monuments Men and How to Train Your Dragon 2.
The end titles, featuring satirical concepts for an ongoing series of Jump Street films and merchandise, were designed by the studio Alma Mater.
Music
The score for the film was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh and was released by La-La Land Records on a double disc album, limited to 2,000 copies, in September 2014. The second disc of the album also contains the score from the film's predecessor, 21 Jump Street, composed by Mothersbaugh as well.
A soundtrack album was also released, featuring songs used in the film and others specially released for it. The first single was "22 Jump Street", performed by Angel Haze and Ludacris. Songs such as "Turn Down for What" by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, "Higher" by Creed, #STUPiDFACEDD" by wallpaper., "Drop Girl" by Ice Cube and others were used during the film, but weren't included in the album. It was released on 10 June 2014 and reached #129 on Billboard 200, #4 in US Top Electronic Albums and #6 in US Top Soundtrack Albums.
Release
Box office 22 Jump Street grossed $191.7 million in North America and $139.4 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $331.3 million, against a budget of $84.5 million. It outgrossed the first Jump Street film, which made a total of $201.6 million during its theatrical run. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $144.4 million, when factoring together "production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs, with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV," placing it 10th on their list of 2014's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".
22 Jump Street grossed $5.5 million at its early Thursday night showings. On its opening day it grossed $25 million, including the early Thursday showings. In North America, the film opened at number one in its first weekend, with $57.1 million. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number two, grossing an additional $27.5 million. In its third weekend, the film stayed at number two, grossing $15.8 million. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number three, grossing $9.8 million.
Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes 22 Jump Street has an approval rating of 84% based on 224 reviews, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Boasting even more of the bromantic chemistry between its stars – and even more of the goofy, good-natured humor that made its predecessor so much fun – 22 Jump Street is the rare sequel that improves upon the original." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, higher than the 'B' received by its predecessor.
Inkoo Kang of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying "If 22 isn't as trim and tight as its predecessor, it's certainly smarter and more heartfelt. Whether this sequel is better than the original is up for debate, but the franchise has definitely grown up." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B−, saying "Hill's neurotic-motormouth act and Tatum's lovable-lunkhead shtick still shoot giddy sparks." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "This is the ultimate meta movie. The repetition is exactly the point."