Starring Miles Teller, Skylar Astin, Justin Chon
Directed by Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
While attending a screenwriting conference a few years ago, I heard Jon Lucas share the secret of his and co-writer Scott Moores success with their script for The Hangover.
During their meetings, the collaborators would dissect films that never quite fulfilled the considerable promise of their premise. Taking the amnesia concept of Dude, Wheres My Car? for a spin, they penned the highest grossing R-rated comedy in history.
With 21 and Over, Lucas and Moore who also serve as directors have inexplicably abandoned this strategy. Instead, in a move reminiscent of the recent Dark Skies, they simply stitch together ideas that have already been executed to perfection elsewhere.
And so, we have two pals Miller (Miles Teller) and Casey (Skylar Astin) who, much like Superbads leads, have drifted apart. Nevertheless, theyve reunited for the 21st birthday of their friend Jeff Chang (Justin Chon as a Harold/Kumar composite) in order to get him wasted. They suddenly find themselves in a one crazy night movie when the neophyte drinker blacks out hell assuredly have quite The Hangover in the morning and Miller and Casey are left to wonder, Dude... Wheres Jeff Changs house?
Ultimately, 21 is akin to encountering Frankensteins monster if the creature also had a puerile sense of humour grafted onto it. It elicits the occasional strained laugh, however, you cant tear your eyes away from the sutures and staples that are barely holding the whole thing together.
