Fans of the original "21 Jump Street" TV series shouldn't get too excited about this big-screen re-imagining if they have their hearts set on a nostalgic return to the Johnny Depp-led '80s drama.

Actually, it might be better suited to the hater crowd – the new "Jump Street" spends as much time making fun of itself as it does reveling in all the splendor of high school humor.

The movie follows odd-couple screw-up cops Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) into an undercover operation at a local high school. Their mission is to find the source of a new drug called H.F.S. ("Holy F*cking Sh*t) by getting in with the teenage dealers.

"Jump Street" doesn't wait to get to high school to start in on the antics. Tatum and Hill play the perfect idiots, gleefully celebrating their minor successes and remaining undeterred by what normal people would view as major failings. Their own interactions and encounters with others are unabashedly ridiculous.

In the process of ingraining themselves into the newest teen generation, they end up experiencing some unexpected role reversal, reverting back to their high school mentalities and getting caught up in even more juvenile behavior (hard to imagine, I know, but it happened).

The plot follows suit with ease. "Jump Street" doesn't shy away from opportunities to parody typical action fare like car chases and cop stereotypes. It even straddles the line of breaking the fourth wall to take jabs at reboots and borrowed inspiration.

It's hard to not laugh at the comedy-gone-rampant style. Watching "21 Jump Street" is just like a high school bender: you might lose some brain cells, but it's a fun – albeit crazy – ride. Add in some subtle nods to the original show (and a few more obvious surprises) and even old-school die-hards might come around.