MOVIE REVIEW - 21 And Over

Full disclosure right up front.  If there was ever a movie made that was squarely targeted at 17 year old boys, it's the new 21 And Over.

How do I know this?  I was a 17 year old boy at one time, and I get it.   This was made by the same people that brought us The Hangover a few years back.  And even though tons of younger kids saw that R rated movie, it really was for adults.  Not only in it's rating, but in its subject matter, and eventual outcome.  The ending message of that movie had to be lived, and teens although will laugh at The Hangover's slap stick, they don't fully relate to the end game.  That is not the problem here.

21 And Over (Rated R) is about three friends.   One of the friends, Jeff Chang, is in college and has a huge meeting the morning after his 21st birthday to get into medical school.  His doctor-father pulled many strings to get this meeting.  Problem is, two friends come into town and are taking Jeff out for a drunken night.   And that's pretty much the first 70 minutes of this movie.   If you like to watch three guys out on the town, drinking, partying, chasing women and puking this is your movie.  I would also like someone to go to this movie and try to count the "F-Bombs" here.  I think Goodfellas holds the all-time record at like 285 or something, but I bet this is close in a movie that is an hour shorter.

Then they try to carve out a "coming of age" angle and attempt to develop a story, and some of it works alright.   What this turns into, is a movie of rebellion, and the never ending quest today to not grow up.   It speaks directly and absolutely to the rebel in all kids today, and in all generations past that it is far more fun to drink all night, party and be a kid forever.   Who at 17 or 21 wouldn't buy into that?   Wouldn't that just be great?   That joke used to be a whole lot funnier than it is today.  It puts today's college experience front and center.

21 And Over knows who is going to this movie and really caters to it.  It really is The Hangover for late teens.   There are some fun gags in this movie but what this really is, is a series of scenes that many teens have lived sadly, and eventually want to live out.   There is a certain glorification to the whole "getting so drunk we don't know who we are thing."  But mostly this is just a laundry list of gags, and scenes that young guys will think is really cool, and funny.  Are there a few laughs?  Why, yes there are, but not enough to save this.  But for the core who are going to see this, it's right on target.

Interestingly though, this opened as real flop.  Leading me to think that there is just so much of this type of thing at the flicks these days, this was thought of as "been there, done that."  A measly 9 million first weekend out.  Waiting till Spring Break might have been wiser financially.

21 And Over.  Juvenile.  Actually 21 might be pushing it.