21 & Over

When diminutive Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) reaches the legal drinking age of 21, his two closest high-school buddies—obnoxious loser Miller (Miles Teller) and uptight, Wall Street-bound Casey (Skylar Astin)—arrive at Northern Pacific University as a surprise to help him celebrate. A perennial straight-A student, Jeff Chang (who is always referred to by his first-and-last name) knows that his dictatorial father (François Chau) has arranged an all-important interview for medical school early the next morning, but he agrees to go out for one beer, flashing his ID card at skeptical bartenders and bouncers. Naturally, things quickly get out of hand and Jeff Chang passes out—after projectile vomiting in slow-motion while riding a mechanical bull—leaving gung-ho Miller and Casey to tote him around the college campus, searching for people who can remind them where he lives so they can deposit him in his bed. Along the way, 21 & Over serves up a real runaway bull, a pair of Serbian thugs, and an excursion into a Latina sorority house for some ritualistic initiation hijinks, while—somehow—a teddy bear gets firmly duct-taped to a private part of Jeff Chang's anatomy and must be (painfully) removed. If elements of this crude, misogynistic, bacchanal comedy sound familiar, it's because filmmakers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore previous collaborated on the screenplay for The Hangover. Consider their directorial debut a formulaic junior version of their earlier effort, chockfull of insulting racist and blatantly sexist one-liners that fall flat amidst the gross-out debauchery. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include segments on the “Levels of Intoxication” (4 min.) and “Tower of Power” games (3 min.), a gag reel (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a sparse extras package for a limp comedy.] (S. Granger)