Movie Review: 21 and Over
And so comes the time for another comedy about kids getting extremely drunk and doing crazy things... Movies like this have a tendency to be either very good or very bad. Granted, none of the films in this genre are exactly Citizen Kane, but there are still still some that can be considered great because they do what they mean to: make us burst out laughing while still pulling a bit at our heartstrings (see: Superbad). And then there are others that neither make us laugh nor give us any real characters to care about (see: Project X). Thankfully 21 and Over lies more towards the Superbad end of that spectrum.
When college student Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) is about to hit the milestone of twenty-one, his two best friends from high school, Casey and Miller (Skylar Astin and Miles Teller), come visit their friend (whom they always refer to by his full name) in order to make sure he celebrates the momentous occasion in the proper fashion: with a night of drunken debauchery. Jeff Chang is resistant to the idea because he has an interview for medical school in the morning that his father went through a lot of trouble to set up. Casey, who already has a sweet job at a financial firm lined up after graduation, understands his friend’s responsibilities and lets him off the hook. Miller, however, is not willing to concede so easily. After much convincing from Miller, Jeff Chang agrees to join his friends for a drink or two.
But when one or two drinks turns into way too many, Casey and Miller find themselves in the position of needing to be the responsible ones in order to get Jeff Chang home for his interview the next morning. The only problem is neither of them can remember where Jeff Chang lives, and he’s too drunk to tell them. At this point we start seeing what the meat of the movie is comprised of: a hilarious series of events in which Casey and Miller are either avoiding Jeff Chang's father, seeking out information regarding where Jeff Chang lives, or seeking out the actual Jeff Chang, who winds up drunkenly wandering away from them several times. And when I say hilarious, I really do mean it. You can definitely tell that this movie was written and directed by the same men that penned The Hangover. Each situation the characters find themselves in is more outrageous than the last, culminating in a 99% nude walk across campus the next morning. (Thank God for tube socks.)
But amid all of the absurdities of the friends’ adventures, a surprisingly relatable emotional core is slowly revealed. The old friends learn that they are not as close as they once were, realizing that they have withheld information about their lives from one another since going off to college. In some cases the information is relatively inconsequential, but other news is much more shocking and serious. This allows the characters a bit of introspection to judge whether or not they've been acting like the friends they thought they were.
Anyone who’s ever gone away from their friends, for college or otherwise, will likely be able to connect to their situation on some level. The debate over whether or not some piece of news is worth calling an old friend and talking about, or if it it will just be seen as an interruption in their busy life. The surprise at how much you’ve missed out on in someone’s life when you’re catching up with them, and how you could have done more to better keep in touch.
Ultimately, this movie is about friends learning to be there for one another and that distance doesn’t mean you can’t still be close with the people you care about. Combined with the fact that it’s genuinely funny and has likable, witty characters, 21 and Over gives us everything a movie like this should.
Grade: B+
21 and Over
Directed by: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Written by: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Starring: Skylar Astin, Miles Teller, Justin Chon, Sarah Wright, Francois Chau
Release date: March 1, 2013
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