In the new red band trailer (above), we see the pair go from high-school classmates on opposite ends of the social spectrum to bike-cop partners to 21 Jump Street partners who go undercover as high-school students to try to break up a drug ring possibly run by James Franco’s brother (yeah, really).
OK, so it sounds a little hokey. But! The film is co-written by Hill, boasts a cameo from original 21 Jump Street-er Johnny Depp, and Tatum is getting pretty good at surprising haters (there’s got to be a reason Steven Soderbergh is making Magic Mike, right?). So there’s a very good chance the best parts of this film are yet to come. Also, Ice Cube is playing a cop, and when a former member of N.W.A plays a cop, it’s worth taking note.
Beyond that, the new 21 Jump Street trailer delivers some honest laughs, like when Tatum says, “Do you want me to beat your dick off?” to a biker he and Hill bust for smoking pot. And then there’s that part where Tatum does The Worm, a scene that probably only exists because if you hire Channing Tatum, you make him dance.
The jury’s still out on whether this Never Been Kissed-meets-The Other Guys film will fly or falter, but if it succeeds it wouldn’t be the first time something grew from awkward beginnings to be totally badass.
21 Jump Street hits theaters March 16, 2012.
