[attach id=264493 size="medium"]With friends like Skylar Austin and Miles Teller, Justin Chon won’t live to see 22.[/attach]
21 & Over (2013)
Certified: 18
Duration: 93 minutes
Directors: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Justin Chon, Skylar Astin, Miles Teller, Sarah Wright, François Chau, Jonathan Keltz, Daniel Booko, Samantha Futerman, Dustin Ybarra
KRS release
Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) is on the eve of his 21st birthday and the pressure is piling up. His bossy father (François Chau) has high hopes for him and has emphasised the importance of the interview he has the following day.
Meanwhile, his friends Casey and Miller (Skylar Astin and Miles Teller) are waiting to celebrate his birthday in style. Miller is as bawdy and over the top as they come and has only one thing in mind: party as hard as possible. On the other hand, Casey is a bit stiffer and is interning at an investment firm in New York. Jeff gets so drunk that he passes out.
Casey and Miller know about his interview and so decide to take him home. The only problem is that they do not know where his home is and in a campus town of over 40,000, finding one’s home may sound easier than it actually is.
The search for the most insane party still goes on
This leads to more partying and clashes of the unusual kind: from a violent cheerleader named Randy (Jonathan Kletz), a wild buffalo and sorority girls that get very, very angry. To make matters worse, Casey has fallen in love with a girl (Sarah Wright) who will be leaving the country the next day!
The search for the most insane party still goes on. 21 & Over follows Project X (2012) and in fact, mixes some of its elements with The Hangover (2009) and a good sprinkling of Animal House (1978) and The Breakfast Club (1985). This coming-of-age and partying non-stop aim for a younger, less jaded crowd that simply wants the outrageous stuff on the cinema screen.
The film, written by debut directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, has its structure and ending cast in stone. Yet all the partying has a shade of poignancy attached to it and in bringing this emotional element, it gives the film an unexpected facet. Teller and Astin make for likeable lead actors.
It is this inane curiosity to see what moronic thing our trio of heroes will get involved in next that keeps the film chugging along. The older audience will be left scratching their head as the film concentrates on characters getting wasted and stoned. At the same time, they might wish they are still 21 and partying hard.