The Mommy Returns - Horrible Creatures

Ruby and William Martirez (Pokwang and Gabby Concepcion) are celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary with a plush party. While fixing themselves up, Ruby gets fatally electrocuted. She dies instantaneously leaving her three children - Amy (Kiray Celis), Toffi (Gerald Pesalga) and Saf (Jillian Ward) – under William’s care. But the decorous and successful dad harbors a secret that requires urgent action. He has been diagnosed with Prostatic Cancer! And he dreads leaving his children as orphans.

At the wake, William serendipitously meets commercial model Catherine (Ruffa Gutierrez) who’s had a crush on him since she was a little girl. Two weeks after Ruby’s burial, William proposes. Without much fanfare, they get married. The children ardently oppose and show their displeasure by making life a living hell for the amicable madrasta.

Meanwhile, Ruby finds herself at the gates of heaven where she meets Jorga (John Lapus), the caretaker of Purgatory, where Ruby awaits judgment. As fate would have it, Ruby manages to escape Purgatory and goes back to Earth to settle some unfinished business with her family. In fact, she wants to free her family from the clutches of Catherine who, to her, is a repugnant character. She has to be eliminated or her family might suffer.

While patiently trying to win over the children’s good graces, Catherine tries hard but never quite succeeds: she’s eternally running late; buys the wrong stuff at the grocery, finds her culinary specialty peppered with live mice. Everything goes awry and she senses this has something to do with the dead wife whose face is emblazoned all over the house, sneeringly looking down her way. Moreover, she experiences vivid dreams of a hand-to-hand combat against a cantankerous Ruby. What’s a new wife to do?

With the children brazenly denouncing her presence, would she ultimately give up the domestic ruckus? Is William really dying? More importantly, will Ruby ever succeed with her mission to get rid of Catherine? Will Ruby find her way back to the netherworld where San Pedro waits for his pet chicken Manny inadvertently taken along Ruby’s journey?

The story’s gist is impudently derived from the TV series “100 Days to Heaven”, without even mentioning Vic Sotto’s “Pak! Pak! My Doctor Kwak” which had an almost similar theme. But Director Joel Lamangan populates his cinematic palette with the most horrible excuse of human beings. There’s the dying father who’s rushing his matrimonial plunge so someone could take care of his children when he croaks (isn’t deception horrible?) There’s the new stepmother who dubiously agrees to marry her beau less than two weeks after their serendipitous meeting (why was she that desperate to tie the knot?) There’s the greedy in-law (Gloria Diaz as Mabel Diaz Laurel, a society matron who has fallen on hard times) who’s ecstatic over Catherine’s marriage to William as it would allow her to pay off all her accumulating debts (aren’t we the opportunistic in-law?) There are the meanest children who would do everything to embarrass and plague their stepmom with cussed accusations and disparaging remarks. Is this the accurate picture of modern youth? Rude, disrespectful and vicious? When you have kids like these, why would you want to be a mom? I shudder at the thought.

You wouldn’t be too surprised about the children’s demeanor. After all, apples (rotten ones) don’t fall too far from the tree, and their mother Ruby exemplifies the worse of them all. She wasn’t merely distrustful when she was still alive (she was a jeweler). As a wandering ghost, she’s consumed by a blind initiative to wreck havoc on the life of Catherine. Why would she want that on a girl fortuitously named Catherine (wink, wink)? If she really cared about her kids, would she prefer them fatherless as well if indeed William dies from cancer? Or is she clueless about his ailment? Don’t ghosts acquire a little more wisdom after passing over? Sometimes, there are tenets of common sense that aren’t easily overlooked. And overlook these, they did!

But wait. I am not quite done yet. Even Inday, the nanny (Moi Marcampo) is duplicitous; Rodel, the ex-boyfriend (Ervic Vijandre) is a scornful ex-convict. Heck, even Senior San Pedro’s assistant, the effete Jorga (Lapus), is a horned out fag lusting after construction workers. Where do we find decent human beings in this Lamangan macrocosm?

The film concludes with one of cinema's most ridiculously abrupt and petty resolutions. I had to pinch myself to realize that all the problems have been concluded by a horrid gown. ;) In fact, if delivering a gown was all it took to patch a domestic squabble, then we should all deliver gowns to find our happily ever after.

Sapphire, Topaz and Amethyst

Children burst with merriment when they learned that Catherine was leaving the house.

Joel Lamangan, once reviled by critics, hasn’t done a mainstream commercial film in a while so I was (well, not exactly looking forward but) expecting a work that’s middle of the road. After all, the director’s experience should teach him proficiency is some aspects of the film making process. Or has it? “The Mommy Returns” conspicuously underscores Lamangan’s fall into mediocrity and highlights all of his weaknesses. In fact, he has never done a movie this bad, he might as well farm camote on the hills of Alitagtag than do another film of this caliber. 

Pokwang, in her second lead role this year (she opened the film year with "A Mother's Story"), keeps the movie afloat, but doesn’t really transcend anything more than a perfunctory conduct to fulfill a banal character written on “bursts of ideas” (scriptwriter Ricky Lee recently explained on television about Mother Lily’s acumen to mine stories: “She has bursts of ideas that we freely develop into full stories.”) The enthusiastic comedienne once again parades her bevy of circus-styled costumes that puts Cirque du Soleil to shame! I was half expecting a trapeze swinging her way. You know, like a burst of inspiration, debah?

Gabby Concepcion and Ruffa Gutierrez have been around the business for so long. But it’s amazing how they have evolved into hammy performers. Gabby, for example, walks around with episodic emotions. He is dying, yet you never fully understand why you don’t feel the grief. There is no emotional baggage to speak of. Isn't this pertinent since you recently lost your wife? And that you’re dying from prostatic cancer? A scene has him knocking on his effete son Toffi’s room after getting the sad news from his doctor. With shoulders hunched down, Gabby should be almost inconsolable, right? Well, not really. He succeeded to look tired instead. Not grieving. Concepcion seems to live in the past, say circa 1989 when he was doing “Gorio and Tekla” with Maricel Soriano, or “Rosa Mistica” with Snooky Serna. Nothing much has changed. Even his looks has stagnated into delectable youth and unfortunately, bland demeanor.

Gabby Concepcion

Ruffa Gutierrez, on the other hand, can’t seem to drop her beauty queen schtick so she walks around with an imaginary crown on her head - and a throne pasted at her backside. You don’t quite find the character in her. What you feel instead is someone languishing on glory that’s so 1993 (when she won Miss World 2^nd runner-up) – and that’s almost 20 years ago! Moreover, she doesn’t mirror the deportment of a 37 year old lady who has attained character. She wallows in a perceived glorious past. She was a better actress in 1993 when she did Joey Romero’s “Maricris Sioson: Japayuki”. Isn’t this sad? What is so wrong with a clan that has grown around the performing industry yet each member is as bland as the next sibling? Grabeh!

Kiray Celis is a funny presence because she takes her role to heart as Gabby’s obstinate daughter. She’s even funnier when she stands beside Hiro Magalona (who’s playing her suitor and confidant). The humor rests on her straight forward depiction, taking on something comic for dramatic. When Ruffa, as the stepmom, gifts her with a puppy, she shrieks: “Isauli mo na yan…beach!” Of course she meant “bitch”. She repeats to emphasize, “Di ba babaeng aso is beach?” Good heavens. Now let's practice elocution, children: "Beach! Beeeech!" "Bitch! betch" 'Betcha by golly wow"! "Life is a beach, bitch!" Now isn't that fun?

Finally, one of my sources of annoyances is the casting of Moi Marcampo (Piolo Pascual’s ex- girl Friday and former Survivor castaway) as the family’s nanny Inday. Instead of wearing a yaya’s frock, she traipses around with earrings the size of a gong, 3-inch shoes, designer outfit, cringe-worthy backless blouses and a cosmopolitan coif as though she was walking the runway even when merely serving juice. I get the intention that her character is rooting for. Unfortunately Marcampo is so raw and discombobulated where her acting acumen is concerned. Simple sentences are met with consumate distress. She can't even scoff properly. She ultimately ends up looking like a displaced street walker in desperate need of a customer. Whoever gave her this delusion that she should get into films deserves to be tied down the stakes and tickled for 12 straight hours until he pees in his knickers! Marcampo was given lines to accentuate her supposed hip presence, but she stalls in monotone and incomprehension. When she finds a stray chicken in a room, she painfully exhorts: “There’s a big cock in the kitchen!” There should be laughter. Instead, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Something gargantuan hit her in the face. Inexperience. The agonizing kind.     

Ruffa Gutierrez and Pokwang

Kiray Celis' amusing presence. Below are some of her enviable encounter with  the boys.

It's in the attitude: Kiray with Gerald Anderson, Sam Concepcion, Daniel Padilla, Markky Stroem and Inigo Pascual (Papa Piolo's son).

Kiray with Enchong Dee. I'd trade places with Kiray's right hand. Haha. Can I grope the rectus abdominis too? :;) 

Kiray with Aldred Gatchalian.

Hiro Magalona plays Kiray's suitor and confidant.

Moi Marcampo: Clueless! (left)

Ervic Vijandre plays Rodel, Catherine's ex-boyfriend.

Dark Shadows - Twisted Fun and Depp Magic

Two hundred years after being shackled inside a coffin that's buried underground, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) is inadvertently cut loose and set free. The year is 1972 on a balmy October night, and the reluctant vampire is consumed by two decades of thirst. After feasting on the hapless construction workers, Barnabas  finds his way to Collinwood, a palatial home he saw rise from the earth when as a little boy, his adventurous family began a new prosperous life from dank and urine-stenched Liverpool to a bright and flourishing town in Maine.

A WITCH'S CURSE

Their halcyon existence allowed them to build the town of Collinsport which has since thrived in the fishing industry that the Collins jumpstarted. But a vengeful, albeit spurned witch Angelique (Eva Green) wrecked havoc on Barnabas' family, murdering his parents and casting a spell on the beautiful Jossette (Bella Heathcote), Barnabas' object of desire, to jump off a cliff. Jossette, in Angelique's eyes, took young Barnabas' affections from her thus she deserved to die. Moreover, she cursed the handsome young man to become a vampire.

But present day Collinsport has changed since Barnabas' "detention". The terrain (he's never seen a concrete road before) has changed and he is continually hounded by Mephistopheles (the devil) decked in gigantic yellow light (the "M" in McDonald's stores). Moreover, Collinwood is in a state of disrepair, rambling into destitution. The Collins have likewise lost their fortunes. Only four of them have survived: Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer), the matriarch; her belligerent daughter Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz); Roger (Jonny Lee Miller), Elizabeth's incorrigible brother and his son David (Gulliver McGrath) who everyone perceives as looney (he thinks his dead mother still intermittently communicates with him). Then there's psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) who has overstayed her doctor's visit for the last 3 years! She attends to David's mental health.

After convincing Elizabeth that he indeed was the "living" incarnation of their ancestor, Barnabas gave his word that he would never harm any member of this family. Furthermore, he would rebuild Collinwood's past glories. In fact, he unearthed a room brimming with jewelries and gold; riches that have eluded the clan for two centuries!

CONDITIONAL LOVE

Unfortunately, Barnabas' ambitious plans couldn't go unimpeded, could it? Angelique, the witch, has taken over the dominion of the fishing town (calling her fish processing company as Angelbay). And she would not allow the resurgence of the Collins! Unless Barnabas accedes to a romantic ever after with her. After all these years, Angelique is still madly in love with "that man with handsome features". But her malevolent nature won't allow him romantic happiness outside her embrace! "I'd rather see him suffer or die..." Angie promised!

One day, a beautiful young woman named Victoria offers her services as a nanny! She has come a long way and seems content to be part of the family. But her uncanny likeness to the downfallen Jossette isn't lost in Barnabas. And the reluctant vampire once again falls in love. Surely, Angelique won't have any of these!

What becomes of the Collins? Will Barnabas be able to rebuild the family fortunes from dire straits? Why is the overstaying doctor transfusing blood on Barnabas who's desperate enough to try the former's experiments (he was told that this could restore his humanity)? Who is Victoria? Will Collinsport embrace the family that built the town? Will they ever find the beast attacking locals to their death? Finally, what is a vampire's place in a new age where "little women" (Karen Carpenter) sing "Top of the World" in small boxes (television)?

Johnny Depp once again creates another delightfully preternatural character in the lovesick Barnabas Collins.  His circumscribed delivery is key to making his character enthralling, which should be a formidable thespic hurdle considering Barnabas thrives on innocent beings for their blood. But it is easy to fawn over someone who's utterly devoted to his family, and more so, with a girl who so enamored him! When he tells Angie off, "How dare you put your cursed lips on mine!" I couldn't help but giggle! Giggle - and I am not 16! When the Collins invites heavy metal legend Alice Cooper to perform for their soiree, Barnabas quips, "I've never seen such an ugly woman!" (He thought with a name like Alice, the rocker couldn't be a man!) :)

Aside from Depp, the cast is as hopelessly engaging. Michelle Pfeiffer deliciously commits to the feisty matriarch who would protect her family against usurpers. She returns to the spotlight in grand fashion! So does Eva Green as the vengeful Angelique who is so malevolently bloodcurdling as she is sexy! Helena Bonham Carter promises another character envisaged like a predetermined anti-hero for a calculated sequel - and this we cannot wait!

There are blatantly weak links in the plot, most of them figure as spoilers so I am not going to get into them, but this involves character development that somehow unravels at the latter part of the film: Carolyn, for example, turns into something else and I thought there was only "one monster in the family". Roger Collins, on the other hand, evolves into a cad just when the family has found their riches. Why leave when luxury is all you're after - and your family has obviously found a huge stash. Even Dr. Hoffman's character is superficially glazed over. Her extended stay does not make sense even as a comedic strain. Having enumerated just a few of these narrative lapses, "Dark Shadows" is nevertheless entertaining.

UNEASY HYBRID

Horror and comedy aren't an easy hybrid simply because fear and laughter don't congeal comfortably beside each other like hands in glove. You don't shriek with fear then laugh in the same breath! It isn't physiologic! Gaiety is in fact the anti-thesis of anxiety and discomposure. But Director Tim Burton succeeds where others failed, thanks to a brilliant cast, a resplendent cinematography, an understated humor and a brisk narrative that never lingers unnecessarily. On IMAX, the film embraces extensively, thus the audience becomes part of Barnabas' journey to restore his broken family!

BATMAN RETURNS

During the screening, a heart-pounding, nail-biting "complete" sequence of the next "Dark Knight" sequel was shown, involving Bane, Batman's next cinematic nemesis (wasn't he notorious for being the guy who "killed" Batman?) It involved an action-packed sequence set in mid-air where a plane gets hijacked. Every second felt urgent and by the time this particular sequence ended, people started clapping! Yes, this wasn't a trailer, but a full-15-minute portion of the incoming summer flick. If they wanted to hook their viewers, they sure succeeded! Now where do I buy the ticket? :)    

Elizabeth and family.

Dr. Hoffman (Carter, right) wants to look young forever so she transfuses a vampire's blood in her.

Barnabas tries convincing Elizabeth that he is the real deal.

Angelique was the Collins' maid in 1752. She fell in love with a playful Barnabas.

Angelique crashes the Collins' party.

Johnny Depp takes on another quirky character.

Michelle Pfeiffer - Catwoman is back sans costume!

Eva Green is malevolent!

Bella Heathcote as Victoria has a dark past that might be unraveled further in a sequel.

Jonny Lee Miller plays the spineless Roger Collins.

Jonny Lee Miller - Angelina Jolie sure knew how to pick boyfriends back then! :)

Cebu Pacific, Lost Baggages and the Claudine-Tulfo Tiff

I have been reading some of the comments from netizens censuring Claudine Barretto for berating a Cebu Pacific ground crew after having lost a baggage on a flight from Kalibo. I am not fond of Barretto (read my previous reviews of her "In Your Eyes") myself. She isn't my favorite personality in any form, manner or persuasion. But people seem to forget the source of all these altercation. Cebu Pacific Air lost another baggage - and this has become a common incidence!

This has interested me because a year ago, my tita lost a baggage worth about P20,000 from her flight from the south to Manila. My tita, who's turning 70, is the epitome of decorum. She has always chosen diplomacy over anger even during the most exasperating times. In her wisdom, she believes that every problem could be remedied by sobriety.

LOSING A BAGGAGE

When she couldn't find the P20,000 baggage she lost, she informed the Cebu Pacific crew and she was initially told that Cebu Pac "will investigate". What's more important is that she was assured - yes, assured - that if the item isn't found, the company will pay for the worth (value) of the lost subject! I learned a couple of months ago (almost a year after the incident) that Cebu Pac called my tita to tell her that Cebu Pacific will indeed pay for for the "weight" of the lost item! If that's not the most incredulous offer, I don't know what is! the sadder thing is, my tita told them this was "unacceptable"! Nothing more! She's 70 - should she carry placards in front of Cebu Pac office to protest? What would you have told them otherwise? Since then, my tita has not heard from Cebu Pacific - and my tita decided it's a waste of time to even talk to these nincompoops! If you were my tita, would just let it go?

So if Cebu Pacific lost a diamond, they would only pay for its "weight" which is almost nil?

Cebu Pacific Air has been losing people's things and they shamelessly assert that they have limited responsibility for transporting their customer's baggage? What kind of dweebs are running this sad excuse of a company? Have you heard of their awards? Have you heard of the child with disability they refused to admit on board a flight back to the Philippines? When all of their flights keep getting delayed (yeah yeah yeah, we've all heard of the convenient "go-to" reason: tarmac traffic in Manila) and they keep losing their customer's stuff - yet they win AWARDS? What is this world coming to? It's like a world where Miss Universe winners are transexuals with chopped down penis, inflated mammoplasties, nose jobs, fake hairs, pumped up buttocks - all in the name of equality of sexual orientation! :)

REALM OF LUNACY

Cebu Pacific released their reason and labelled it as a company policy through a term called "baggage offloading". You mean they conveniently accepted a passenger's payment for their baggage check-in service (because these baggages won't get checked in if you don't buy a space for them or pay for them) only to leave them at the point of origin? That is a paid service NOT rendered! Whatever their reason is, since they were paid for and these items were entrusted to them, it is their responsibility to get them to their point of destination during an appointed time! If they hire a flying calesa to get them there is not  the flyer's concern! Where did they place my tita's lost baggage? Did they fly it to Mount Kiagot? In "Bandila" they interviewed a supposed travel specialist who advised "huwag kayong magalit... it happens to everyone"! Where did they get this idiotic travel specialist who makes it like it was normal to lose passenger baggages? What planet does she come from? My goodness, are we really in a realm of lunacy? Super Moon, maybe?

It is never normal to lose your passenger's baggage! NEVER!

Better yet, isn't Cebu Pacific liable to civil damages for their continued ignorance of responsibility to their customers and people who patronize their business?

What is the D.T. I. doing against this? Or is it similar to the case against popcorns and 3D movie tickets running on deaf ears (buy a 3D ticket and they sell you a popcorn even if you don't eat it) - simply because the new D.T.I. boss was once a business colleague of the Sy's in SM!

Such shameless people!

Now going back to Claudine, if you were in her shoes - and you lost your stuff, say your phone charger, those cosmetics bought by your sister from L.A., an LV bag, the peripherals of your iPod, that exquisite Mishima book "Forbidden Colors" which you're almost done reading, a dozen blouses, dresses and pants, your favorite sneakers, a pair of too-die-for stiletto shoes - would you just smile affably like those spitting dingbats from Beijing?

Ohmygoodness, I would raise hell! I would be "masamang ugali" as well! I entrusted my belongings to an airline and they manage to lose these very personal items? Claudine Barretto deserves answers regarding the whereabouts of her stuff - and if she doesn't get any, she has the right to raise hell! She deserves to shout "Bobo", "Gago", "Tarantado",  "Tanga" like , errr... the Tulfo brothers? Don't tell me you haven't heard the Tulfos graciously deliver these sophisticated rebuttal pieces like the true journalists that they are! Or do you live in a cave? Yet Ramon Tulfo doesn't seem so gracious when he hears a "mura" from Raymart. He should learn to take what he conveniently dishes out to others on a daily basis. Take it like a man, is what I say! Unless he is half of that! :)

Why was Tulfo all puffy? In fact, he might as well personify that "naupos na kandila" like my yaya said - cause he looked exactly like one after his fisticuffs! Isn't Tulfo a blackbelter in judo, aikido or some form of lethal martial arts? Was he holding back? LOL. I would have thought he could take on an army, the way he blasts people on air! He is so manly, I could personally smell testosterone dripping out of my boobtube every time his program is on! The action hero in Raymart Santiago finally confirms that he doesn't merely posture; he is in fact a real man of action. I am thus keeping an eye a la "Tutok Tulfo" for a future action project starring Raymart Santiago. This will be well deserved!

Cebu Pacific - Whhere your check-in luggage is not as important as your air fare payments! LOL

TV Series - "Awake": Two Realities in the Life of Michael

Like any fatal car accidents, Detective Michael Britten’s (Jason Isaacs) was life changing. In his case, it brought him into two bewildering but distinct realities. Every waking hour takes him into one of two alternate situations: one has his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) survive the accident; the other has son Rex (Dylan Minnette) survive it. When he wakes up, he is alternately taken into either “world”. But what’s more jarring is how each of these “dreams” seems real, even irrefutable; he fails to deduce which is the figment of his unconscious mind anymore. Which is a dream and which is reality?

To extirpate the trauma from losing a loved one, Michael is assigned a shrink from each "world": the nurturing and decorous Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones) and the confrontational Dr. Lee (B.D. Wong) who warns Michael that his situation just may go out of hand. That when he embraces the other as “real”, his psyche would spiral down the point that blurs lunacy and normalcy. Each psychiatrist is aware of the presence of the other as though rivals, occasionally asking Michael to send a message to the other - “Tell Dr. Lee that…” and so on. 

But that’s not where these coagulating situations end. Michael, a great detective, finds hints, i.e. “cross-over clues” that help him decipher the variety of cases from each alternate world: the abducted child in one; the mysterious taxi driver-killer in the other. His partners – longtime colleague Freeman (Steve Harris) in one world, the rookie Detective Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama) in the other – are as confounded by Michael’s extra-forensic intuition. How was he aware of the clues: an unparked car; a ginger hair, etc.

While Dr. Lee considers Michael’s situation aberrant, thus potentially dangerous, Dr. Evans bides her time, occasionally reminding him to “go pinch yourself” (he does – it doesn’t help). But if you were in Michael’s shoes, would you let go of the other “reality”? In these alternate macrocosm, Michael gets to keep his wife Hannah and his son Rex. But how far will his condition take him where his “cognitive capacity” is concerned? 

Which is reality - Michael grieving with his wife - or with his son?

Creator Kyle Killen’s “Awake” is an intriguing play on the fickle consciousness of a grieving mind. Britten’s continuous grappling of his misfortune hooks you to your screen. The interplay of situations that seemingly connect both separate alternate worlds are as fascinating.

Jason Isaacs perfectly tempers his role with emotive panache. There’s palpable balance between his grief and coping. Moreover, there are scenes that persistently linger in your mind, like when his son Rex, a great football player in high school, suddenly turns to tennis (his mother’s sports activity). Rex’s breakdown scene during a tournament was particularly heart breaking.

We bemoan the paucity of original stories in films and television. Many of these film and TV narratives are derivative. When we find something inceptive like this, we can't help but get excited. “Awake” is fresh, intriguing and compelling. And I can’t wait to watch more.     

Rex loses a mother.

Psychiatrists from alternate worlds come to a head: Dr. Lee (BD Wong) and  Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones).

Detective Michael Britten gazes with those piercing eyes. Spank me, daddy! :)

The Brittens figure in a car accident and loses - two?

Beautiful Laura Allen is Hannah Britten, Michael's wife.

Laura Allen

Dylan Minnette is Rex, Michael's son. Too pretty for words. :)

Dylan Minnette

Always reliable Steve Harris as Michael's longtime partner Bird Freeman.

Wilmer Valderrama is rookie detective Efrem Vega who becomes  Michael's new partner in one reality. Was he really assigned to "babysit" the grieving detective?

Wilmer Valderrama: Oohlala! Opps, it should be "Ayayay, mama mia!" :)

Wilmer Valderrama - How to pose with a skin tight shirt?

Michaela McManus is Tara, Rex's tennis coach and Hannah's former playing partner.

Michaela McManus - She played Lindsey Strauss in "One Tree Hill" and was also in  "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit".

21 Jump Street - Guilty Pleasure

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) were never friends back in high school. While the former was a bullied nerd, the latter was the popular jock. A few years later, they both find each other as rookies of the police force. What's worse, they become partners, bicycling around parks for the occasional petty crime. But one day, they unravel a drug deal and successfully capture the culprit. Unfortunately, Jenko wasn't able to completely read the suspect's Miranda Rights (he couldn't get past "You have the right to remain silent..."), forcing the station to let go of dealer.

As a consequence, the bumbling duo is sent to Jump Street to work as undercover cops. This program was a "recycled" program in the 80's that has been revived by the station to satisfy directives from higher ups. They have to uncover the insidious drug-dealing operation within the campus to prevent the widespread peddling of HFS, a new synthetic narcotic, and they have to turn in the people behind this operation. They are in fact sent back to high school, an experience that scarred Schmidt who was traumatized by several high school memories, like getting laughed at after gathering the nerve to ask the most popular girl out for the prom. Jenko, meanwhile, is pleased. He had his glory days in high school - and this would be easy. Or is it?

Running on flimsy and predictable plot, the mismatched partners have to work on chemistry and turn to enthusiasm to make the story more believable. After all, hunky Channing Tatum would never pass for a high school "kid" (he is 32). Once we suspend disbelief that the students were absolutely clueless and that something was amiss, then it's a walk in the park where its entertainment quotient is concerned. This unforeseeable happening couldn't be farther from the concept of the late 80's original TV show (which wasn't exactly labelled under "comedy"). Hilarity ensues when Schmidt and Jenko had to switch identities: Tatum is assigned to the nerdy/techie posse, and the burdensome Chemistry class (one of their directives say that they "cannot be expelled"); Hill, on the other hand, gets to deal with the popular girl Molly (Brie Larson) and her boyfriend - popular jock Eric (Dave Franco). Then they discover Eric's ruse. How will they catch the supplier of Eric's products? Will they ever come close? How can a former "dork" summon the good grace of the most popular guy in school?

WONDERFUL SURPRISE

There is a wonderful surprise sometime before the conclusion as some "unfamiliar" faces "return" to pay homage to the series that brought them fame in the 80's. Except for two of its original cast, everyone else returns for a few seconds. Even Dustin Nguyen (who couldn't personally make the shoot - he has a great career in Vietnam these days) is shown on a TV screen.

Peppered with good natured scenes that aren't as irreverent as the latest installment of Schlossberg and Hurwitz's "American Pie: Reunion", Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller's "21 Jump Street" coasts on their actor's cinematic charm, humor and easy camaraderie more than narrative heft. But that's not so bad. I don't mind this bit of an easy time at the cinema. Not when the baddie is as good looking as pint-sized Dave Franco. Yum!

Ice Cube plays Captain Dickson, Jump Street's boss.

Miss Griggs harbors a crush on a student!

Dave Franco, James' younger brother, plays popular jock Eric who peddles a synthetic drug and a lot of sexy charm.

Jonah Hill flaunts his amazing weight loss and "new" persona.

Channing Tatum appears in one hit flick after the next. With 7 projects in different state of production, Tatum  is one of Hollywood's busiest. He will appear next in Steven Soderbergh's "Magic Mike" where he revisits a not-so-savory past, i.e. the role of a stripper. In the story, Tatum will play guide to a new protege, the gorgeous Alex Pettyfer ("I Am Number Four", "Beastly"). The film also stars Matthew McConaughey and Matt Bomer.

Dave Franco appears next in Louis Letterier's "Now You See Me" with  Mark Ruffalo,  Woody Harrelson,  Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine and Jesse Eisenberg.

Dave Franco also appears as a zombie in Jonathan Levine's ("50/50") "Warm Bodies". The film is set for release in 2013.

Dave Franco

Johnny Depp played Officer Tom Hanson in 1987's "21 Jump Street" TV series that popularly ran  for 3 years.

Don't you just love the fly-away hair?

Cast of the original TV series. Three of them do cameos.