The film takes inspiration* from a Johnny Depp TV series. Two undercover* police rookies* are now at its center, played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.

    For those who don’t know the basics of the Depp series, Jenko (Tatum) and Schimidt (Hill) are sent back to high school disguised* as students to catch bad guys trying to corrupt children.

    Depp’s “Street” was more crime-and-punishment drama. This film is total comic farce*, with Schmidt and Jenko assigned to find out the supplier of a new designer drug that is very potent* — its effect recorded by one student YouTube style.

    As fate and the filmmakers would have it, Jenko and Schmidt are sent back to the very high school they graduated from, which means a second chance to do things differently.

    Always the jokester, Jenko switches their identities during their meet-and-greet with the principal, with Jenko playing the science nerd* and Schmidt the track star and drama club king. Oh, and they’re supposed to be brothers, which means they move back in with Schmidt’s mom and dad.

    Tatum and Hill turn out to be even better partners than Jenko and Schmidt. Though Tatum is rock hard and Hill is soft, both bring a kind of vulnerability* to their characters that helps them get away with a lot.

    Those qualities serve to bring an unexpected introspection* as the guys rewind and replay their high school experience with all the ego* and angst* of the first time, and the wisdom of age. Just about everything on the teen issue checklist turns up at some point — the out-of-control party, the cute girl (Brie Larson) whom Schmidt wants to take to the prom*, the cool boy (Dave Franco) who deals on the side, and all the big, bad bruisers* the boys are supposed to take down.

    As Jenko and Schmidt struggle with their shifting emotions and the pressures that the high school role-playing puts on their relationship, the conflicts* nearly always start some kind of major action episode with wild car chases, shootouts and a lot of fighting. But then things never quite turn out as planned for the pair, which is just fine.

    (SD-Agencies)