Brilliant student Jeff Chang has the most important interview of his life tomorrow. But today is still his birthday, what starts off as a casual celebration with friends evolves into a night of de...
21 & Over offers enough unfunny forewarnings to make you yearn for your teenage years. Perhaps becoming an adult isn’t so hilarious after all. Jeff Chang would agree. The poor boy, now fully evolved into manhood, ironically has a teddy bear superglued to his stretchy manhood, swallows a tampon, throws a dart through a “yell-leader’s” cheek and is thrown out of a window twice. All in one night. Surely, one of these unsympathetic shenanigans would be hilarious to watch, right? Wrong. Reason being is simple. One horrifically written character that requires to be the centre of attention constantly, Miller. A name that is weirdly a combination of its actor’s forename and surname (Miles plus Teller equals Milesteller, I mean, Miller). And that’s really all it takes to decimate an entire comedy. One. Idiotic. Douche. A trio of friends go out to celebrate Jeff Chang’s 21st birthday despite him having an important medical interview the next morning.
When ‘The Hangover’ and ‘Project X’ meet for coffee and drink from the same cup, the combined residual swirling around in the liquid is 21 & Over. There’s irresponsible alcohol consumption, excessive partying montages to apparent club music, Miles Teller, absolute conclusive anarchy and eternal friendship the next morning. A near identical structure to both films, and the same mundane “jokes” that hyperbolise profanity just to get some laughs from a couple of kids who shouldn’t be watching the film anyway.
There is, however, one gaping plot hole that renders this comedy useless. So, two of these friends had to order a taxi to pick Jeff Chang up. What happens when you get in a taxi? You state the address of your destination. Obviously I’m not expecting two morons to remember this, therefore I assumed they wrote this down on their phone or something. Perhaps they carry a notepad? A diary? A flippin’ napkin? Anyway, when the drinking is finalised and they decide to bring Jeff Chang home, they seemingly don’t know where he lives, despite already physically requesting the address beforehand. Not only that, but Jeff Chang shoves his identification card in the faces of bouncers. I’m not from the States of United, but surely an address would be on there, right?
It’s the little details y’know, or in this case the entire flippin’ narrative cohesion of the film. God damn. The gags are unfunny. Some of the lines hit and are more tolerable than the excessively racist dialogue. Astin, Chon and Teller all have chemistry together, despite the latter being insufferably obnoxious and irrefutably irresponsible. No, seriously. He commands a bunch of blindfolded Latino girls to make out and touch each other, only to then be forced in the same situation when they get their revenge. Why am I even explaining this, I don’t know. His hornier than a rabbit, louder than a foghorn and more annoying than a baby screaming next to you.
The more dramatic moments, such as the predictable momentary fight between Astin and Miller, actually do hold some solid ground. The stress of work, to the extent that it’s unbearable, is relatable and furthers the development of all three characters. The story itself moves along at a consistent pace. And, to be honest, I’ve seen far worse American comedies than this, despite the plot hole and “hilarious” scenes. Still though, I’d rather be under 21. We should all strive to be like Jeff Chang’s father. Miserable, domineering, but super duper successful. Oh yeah!
