21 Jump Street story
21 Jump Street is a 2012 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall, and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. An adaptation of the 1987–1991 television series of the same name by Stephen J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh, the film follows police officers Schmidt and Jenko, who are forced to relive high school when they are assigned to go undercover as high school students to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug and arrest its supplier.
27 total · 11 major · 16 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| betrayal | major | Schmidt befriended Eric to infiltrate his drug smuggling ring, only to reluctantly reveal himself to be a cop in the end. The DEA agent infiltrated the biker gang, and pointedly betrayed its boss at a critical moment. |
| brother and brother | major | The buddy cops Schmidt and Jenko went undercover as the siblings Brad and Doug McQuaid, and in so doing lived as brothers in Schmidt's parents home. |
| coping with time passing you by | major | Much was made of high school having changed unrecognizability since Schmidt and Jenko's student days. For example, it was cool to carry your backpack with two straps instead of one, people texted instead of calling on the phone, bullying was no longer cool, caring about the environment was normal, etc. |
| friendship | major | Schmidt and Jenko were fast friends, and their bonds of friendship increases throughout the story. Schmidt befriended the high school drug dealer, Eric, and they became pals of sorts. A shot DEA agent uttered some last words to his best friend before expiring. |
| human characters in contrast | major | tall and handsome and dumb vs. short and average and dumb |
| illegal drug trade | major | The buddy cops Schmidt and Jenko were tasked to infiltrate a local high school to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug and arrest its supplier. |
| law enforcement | major | The buddy cops Schmidt and Jenko were tasked to infiltrate a local high school to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug and arrest its supplier. |
| romantic love | major | Schmidt courted his drama class classmate Molly, winning her love in the end. |
| the desire to be liked | major | Schmidt, a socially awkward police officer who'd been a big loser in high school, longed to be popular on his mission to infiltrate a local high school. |
| what it is like in school | major | The story follows the buddy cops, Schmidt and Jenko, as they are forced to relive high school when they are assigned to go undercover as high school students to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug and arrest its supplier. |