dvd of the week
Unlike 21 Jump Street, its sequel 22 Jump Street is, lucky for the gays, not a two-hour mockery of gay sex. The absurdist franchise about lame cops Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) going undercover as much younger guys, this time in college, is based on the more earnest 1980s TV show. In the second chapter of the series, at one point, Jenko tries to make up for the first film’s constant joking about men touching each other by raging at one of the bad guys: “In 2014, you can’t say the word ‘faggot’!” However, 22 Jump Street is unfortunately a two-hour mockery of gay love. There are long bits focused on how Jenko and Schmidt’s fights seem like those of lovers; one is about how Jenko’s desire to investigate another man is like asking to be able to see other people and another is done in the office of a therapist who thinks they’re lovers. This mockery is not particularly cruel, and the film, like its predecessor, is a celebration of male friendship, even if that friendship seems a bit gay. It’s fumbling toward an enlightened view of masculinity, but in 2014, “even if” is unnecessary and retrograde. That said, I laughed. A lot. Sigh.
