21 and Over, 2013.
Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.
Starring Justin Chon, Miles Teller, Sarah Wright, and Skylar Astin.
SYNOPSIS:
The night before his big medical school exam, a promising student celebrates his 21st birthday with his two best friends.
Every year we get at least one or two films about teens or college students throwing a huge party or going out for a night on the town and getting completely drunk. Last year we got Project X which was a found footage film devoid of any laughs and featuring three of the most annoying main characters I’ve seen in a long time. This year we get 21 and Over, a film where two friends take their best friend out for a night of drinking to celebrate his 21st birthday.
When it comes to films like this I only ask that they have three things: likable characters, funny moments and they don’t overdo it on the gross out humor. Thankfully, this has two of those three things. The two leads here are Miles Teller (Footloose) and Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and I thought they both did a pretty decent job. Teller plays somewhat of a jerk while Astin is the more likable guy. They both have really great chemistry together and the relationship between the two is fun to watch. There are some pretty funny moments throughout the film as well, although they aren’t very consistent. A few of the side characters provide most of the funniest bits.
Now we come to where I had some problems. The other lead here is Justin Chon (Twilight) who plays Jeff Chang, they call him by his full name more than one hundred times. Even though the character is basically unconscious for most of the film he ends up being annoying and I think that’s largely due to Justin Chon’s performance. To go along with that the gross out humor here goes a little bit further that it needs to. I understand that’s something films like this tend to include but I really don’t need to see a guy eat a tampon or a slow motion shot of someone throwing up while riding a mechanical bull. There are also a lot of unneeded parts here that aren’t just gross out moments. Skylar Astin’s character has a side story involving him and a girl that is there just to take up time and the ending scene after our two leads go through a series of party games just seemed pointless.
21 and Over wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. While Miles Teller and Skylar Astin are good as the leads, there are too many gross out moments and unnecessary side stories and not enough laughs to make this one all that entertaining.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Jake Peffer
Originally published February 28, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
