"But we wanted that to be an in-joke too, which is why we've made fun of ourselves doing a sequel by saying how bad sequels usually are and how the plot, this time, is exactly the same as last time! It also means that if this film really sucks, then at least we've covered ourselves!"
"I don't think Jonah or I ever want to do anything derivative of what we've already done but it makes sense to keep some things the same," adds Tatum, seriously. "Mostly though, we want to keep changing and growing because that's what makes doing these films -- and doing comedy -- more interesting. It keeps you turned on, if you're changing things around."
Subsequently, they have changed some things around with 22 Jump Street. So, unlike last time, now they've graduated from high school to college, becoming the oldest, oddest freshmen on campus. The result is a riotous mix of cheesy one-liners, slapstick comedy, goofy gaffes and long, drawn-out set-ups. The film is again directed by the original's duo, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, in what's likely to be their second assault on the international box office after their hit, The Lego Movie. The first Jump Street movie, in 2012, made more than US$200 million ($237m) worldwide, making it the biggest-earning big-screen spoof of a television show.
Which is why Schmidt and Jenko have returned to their odd-buddy partnership. This time, the harmony of their close-knit ties are tested to breaking point by Jenko meeting a kindred spirit on the football team and Schmidt gravitating towards the boho art major scene, where he enjoys his own blossoming romance. It leads to touching but also terse moments between the once-inseparable friends, underpinned by tongue-in-cheek, bromance-gone-wrong exchanges between them.
"I think there's that good analogy of how you have your high school sweetheart and then, when you go to college, you start meeting new people and it makes you question your relationship a bit," suggests Tatum. "So, we decided to have that whole role reversal thing of 'if you love them, let them go, if they come back to you, they're yours' going on in this. It was fun, it allowed us to mix things up." Consequently, while Schmidt suffers feelings of heartache, jealousy, rejection and betrayal, Jenko blithely embraces his new super-jock, frat-brat lifestyle, without a second thought for his former friend. It highlights the yawning gap between the arty Schmidt and party-mad Jenko, with their differences played out to hilarious effect, like when they accidentally take the drug they're supposed to confiscate and Schmidt endures a trip to hell while Jenko ascends to heaven.
"The directors were really into the whole Yin and Yang thing," recounts Hill, excitedly. "That was something they were really adamant about having underpin the movie. I think, thematically, it works really well, too." It does. It also emphasises the myriad layers to 22 Jump Street, from the purely superficial, dumbed-down humour to the more philosophical musings tucked below the surface. There's also a quirky, clever homage to Stanley Kubrick and a scene taken from Woody Allen's Annie Hall for film buffs in on the joke.
"Yeah, I like the idea that if someone really smart sees this and someone who's not so smart sees it they both walk away enjoying the film. I think that's a great thing to accomplish," continues Hill, smiling. "A lot of people have put in the effort and thought to make sure it works out like that though, because these films are more than just Channing and me. It's a group effort."
Watch the trailer for 22 Jump Street below (warning - explicit language):
"Yeah, I don't want people to think that the first movie and this one was just a bunch of dudes getting together to make each other laugh and then going out and having a beer afterwards," adds Tatum, earnestly. "We really care about what we're doing and we work really hard, because comedy is hard -- well it is for me!"
You'd never guess it, judging by the playful banter between Hill and Tatum off-screen and their seemingly effortless, whimsical performances on-screen. Surely it was fun pairing-up to play calamity cops again, especially after some of the more serious films they've starred in recently?
"Yeah, this was the light at the end of the tunnel and a lot of fun compared to something like Foxcatcher, which was the hardest, darkest thing I've ever done, or Jupiter Ascending which was an incredibly physically taxing movie to make," acknowledges Tatum.
"Coming back to work with these guys, who I really love, respect and feel comfortable around was special." It's why both he and Hill have no qualms about teaming up in the future for even more episodes of Jump Street, as the end credits hilariously allude to with endless possibilities that are as deft -- and daft -- as both 21 and 22 Jump Street.
Hill's street blues
Jump Street buddies Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have been in the news this week (after TimeOut's London interview).
Hill made headlines for a homophobic slur against a paparazzi cameraman who had been tailing him in Los Angeles, for which Hill quickly apologised.
Meanwhile Tatum's other big movie of the blockbuster season, Jupiter Ascending, in which he plays a genetically engineered interplanetary warrior on a mission to make Mila Kunis Queen of the World, has just been bumped to next February by studio Warner Bros. Directors, the Wachowski siblings (Matrix trilogy), have had ambitious projects like Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas bomb at the box office.
Who: Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum
What: 22 Jump Street, the sequel to 21 Jump Street and movie remake of the 1980s cop show that made a star of Johnny Depp
When and where: Opens at cinemas on Thursday
- TimeOut
