Brains and brawn team up to form an unlikely (and hilarious) duo
In this loose adaptation of the 1980s TV show 21 Jump Street, high school enemies turned best buds, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are a motley pair of rookie cops who find themselves transferred to the Jump Street unit, a revived undercover police program from the ’80s. In an attempt to find a drug supplier at Sagan High, Jenko and Schmidt pose as students and find themselves awkwardly navigating the social waters of high school once again. Fortified by his glory days as ruthless bully and super-star jock, Jenko confidently approaches the high-school scene while Schmidt anxiously anticipates a repeat of his teenage misery. This time around, however, Schmidt fits in with the new-age popular crowd, while Jenko’s antiquated notion of “cool” quickly undercuts his chances of moving up Sagan High’s social ladder.
The year in film
With its atypical plot and talented cast, Win Win will win you over with a heartfelt story about being a loser. The movie revolves around an ever-so-average father, Mike (Paul Giamatti), who is struggling to make ends meet for his family, and Kyle, a troubled teenager (Alex Shaffer) whose unexpected agility and strength help rescue Mike’s high school wrestling team. If life’s got you down, this movie is a perfect remedy. As its tagline says, “in the game of life, you can’t lose ‘em all.”