Issue 60 - University of Surrey's Student Union

28 FILM
The Stag | 29 th May 2013 film@thestagsurrey.co.uk
21 & Over
group of males go out, get drunk and
A a series of mishaps unfold – it’s not a
By Candice Ritchie, Film Editor
surprise that 21 & Over comes from the writers
of The Hangover. There are certainly a number
of similarities, from reflecting on the drunken
adventures of the night before, to getting
the party boy so drunk that the rest are left
to fix the mess. In fact, they even go as far
as to include an obligatory Asian wild-child
named Jeff Chang (Justin Chon), probably to
replicate the infamous Mr. Chow. But, to my
disappointment, they were missing an Alan.
The only real differences I could see were
the reason for celebration (birthday as opposed
to stag-do), age of the characters (college
students rather than middle-aged men) and
the fact that, rather than trying to find their
friend, they are trying to find their friend’s
house. It’s entirely unoriginal and predictable.
Writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore clearly
couldn’t wait for the release of The Hangover 3 –
and clearly had some time to kill.
Nonetheless, being from the writers of The
Hangover, we expect hilarity – and that’s exactly
what we get. What’s not funny about a wasted
guy acting like a total idiot? But it almost felt
as though the entire film was just a series of
funny moments. Undoubtedly, that’s what the
film intended – the plot is so simple that it
lacks any real development and the characters
are completely void of depth. There are times
when a bigger storyline begins to develop, such
as when Miller (Miles Teller) and Casey (Skylar
Astin) find a gun in Jeff’s pocket and learn he
was previously arrested. But such possibilities
for an intriguing plot are wasted on boring
conclusions.
Miles Teller, whose last film was Project X
(three teenagers, a party and, of course, the
same writers – I’m sensing a theme) is mediocre.
Skylar Astin, who was far better in Pitch Perfect,
is equally as disappointing. The only actor
that I felt really embraced the role of their
character was Justin Chon – perhaps owing to
his recent roles in the Twilight series. He was the
single provider of comedy in this film, despite
appearing unconscious for half of it.
If you’re going to enjoy this film, you need to
accept it for what it is: ninety-three minutes of
laughing at a drunken twenty-one year old. It’s
not something that’s going to change your life
or create any thought-provoking issues – apart
from maybe steering you away from drinking
at that party next week.