21 & OVER – The Review

21 & OVER, by first-time Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (THE HANGOVER, THE CHANGE-UP),is an aggressively vulgar, sporadically funny frat party of a comedy with just one thing, maybe two things, on its mind. It actually might help to be under 21 & OVER to fully imbibe the spirit of devoted drunkenness and desired debauchery unleashed by this tale of an unplanned birthday all-niter that gets a wee bit out of hand. A lot better than the similarly scabrous PROJECT X (not to mention THE HANGOVER PART II), this ode to youthful irresponsibility applies the right crude and rude attitude to its bulging sack of gags to have the desired effect on its target audience.

Rascally chatterbox Miller (Miles Teller, PROJECT X) and somewhat more together Casey (Skylar Astin, PITCH PERFECT) surprise their old friend Jeff Chang (Justin Chon, TWILIGHT) on his birthday with the prospect of a night of drunken wildness, more for them than him since he has a very important med school interview early the next morning. Drinks are drunk, Chang vomits (in slo-mo) while riding a mechanical bull, Miller and Casey are branded in a hazing prank gone awry, and they can’t find their way back to Chang’s apartment.

The film has a strange obsession with race, the patter peppered with references to who is a what, be it white, Asian or Hispanic, though really no blacks because that would be awkward. A large pair of fellows are even pinned as being “ethnic Serbs.” The film’s ostensible villains, apart from a world that doesn’t always want to party, are angry Latinas and an overbearing Asian father. Add to that a single character, Randy (Jonathan Keltz, BREACH) who is meant to combine a romantic obstacle, fastidious male cheerleader and lunkhead jock all in one.

In its own way, 21 & OVER is the missing link between SUPERBAD and THE HANGOVER. Much like those films, it’s very much your typical binge comedy, but at the same time, it’s the collegiate backdrop that sets itself apart. The movie is very keen on exploring that time in your life when you’re not exactly sure what you’re supposed to do, and yet there’s this fast approaching deadline to get your s#!t together. That combined with the vulgar, juvenile humor creates a kind of juxtaposed dynamic, and for the most part, the main characters completely sell it.

The romantic arc between Casey and Jeff Chang’s friend Nicole (Sarah Wright, THE HOUSE BUNNY) is a subplot that’s noticeably disjointed from the rest of the movie, and it almost feels like it was crammed in near the end of the writing process to appease a broader audience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite mesh with the comedy’s established tone and ultimately cheapens the Casey character a little bit. This may also be due to the fact that Lucas and Moore aren’t exactly wordsmiths when it comes to female dialogue. To be fair, Sarah Wright’s wooden performance doesn’t really help.

If the entire movie was one big drunk-fest  though, it would be a little monotonous and redundant. There are only so many drinking games in the world. Lucas and Moore try to balance the raunchiness with reality, as the friends struggle to figure out what to do with their lives once the buzz and college are over. These segments don’t feel nearly as well thought-out and the tonal shifts can be a little jarring, but the actors always have a nice camaraderie with each other.

2 Out Of 5 Stars