Directed by Jorge Montesi
Airdate: February 19, 1990
Guest Stars: Shawn Levy (Lance); John Waters (Mr. Bean); Jensen Daggett (Ashley)
One could argue the original premise of 21 Jump Street was a joke (undercover High School cops), but the show played everything straight. By season four, 21 Jump Street no longer resisted its own absurdity, it leaned into it. Many consider the fourth season to be the final one proper since it was the last with the principal cast. This episode would be the last carefree pairing of Hanson and Penhall, one last, strange road trip before the show leaves them behind.
Everyone's uncharacteristically grumpy at the chapel, the squad pesters Fuller for more vacation time. Hanson and Penhall are investigating an explosion near a "radical" college newspaper run by student communists. They follow the editor Lance who hops on a bus to Florida for Spring Break, we learn he's chasing his ex-girlfriend Ashley - a swimsuit model.
The bus is chartered by an esoteric self-help cult led by none other than cult filmmaker John Waters as "Mr. Bean." Depp had just worked with Waters on Cry Baby, making the cameo feel like an inside joke. They get kicked off the bus and hitch a ride to Florida. The spectacle of college students converging on Florida became a defining image of 1990s pop culture, and 21 Jump Street gets there early.
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| Spring Break Adventure |
Penhall keeps an eye on Lance as they get caught up in a beer pong game. Hanson locates Ashley and they really hit it off, but she eventually reunited with Lance. And Sal shows up at one point - he's also partying at Spring Break? Wasn't he married with two kids, as we saw in earlier episodes. Sal appears almost as a specter, not unlike the way Depp exited the series.
Morgan and Wong's script joyfully disrupted structure. We get random detours, Hanson and Penhall are drifting more than investigating. Scenes feel incidental, even disposable. The plot is more about movement than narrative.
Shawn Levy would go on to a big directing career. Jensen Daggett as Ashley also exuded star power here, her claim to fame would be starring in Jason Takes Manhattan.
Despite all the drift and absurdity, the episode ends on a serious note. Penhall plans on going to El Salvador to track down his estranged wife, a reminder the show still centered seriousness.
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