Jeff Chang turned 21 today.  Mazel Tov!  His two best friends from high school decide to pop in and surprise him with a bar-crawl blowout…but Jeff’s got “the” medical school interview at 8am tomorrow morning.  Oh you know this isn’t gonna end well.

21 And Over is made by the folks that gave us The Hangover, and luckily it’s more of the feel-good craziness of the first Hangover and not just warmed-over ideas packed into a college setting.  And the three leads do a fantastic job of taking moviegoers along for the ride.  Justin Chon (one of Bella’s non-sparkle pals in the Twilight series) plays Jeff Chang, a guy ground down to nothing by his overbearing father (François Chau, Lost).  Poor Jeff Chang — his friends call him by both first and last names, sounding like Jeffchang — is so beaten down that he doesn’t even want to celebrate this milestone in his life.  But party guy Miller (Miles Teller) decides to take charge, with their super-achieving friend Casey (Skylar Astin) deciding that one beer couldn’t hurt.  But with Miller’s promise that “I’m gonna fuck you with alcohol!”, it’s not gonna be a one-beer night.

In fact, there’s a cornucopia of alcohol-related craziness here, from beer pong to suck-n-blow, bodyshots to breakdancing.  And let’s not forget the teddy bear glued to Jeff Chang’s junk.  And a quick tip for folks who don’t think puking is the height of hilarity: y’all may want to turn away at the mechanical bull scene.  Because it’s a slow-mo, overlong love letter to stomach upset.  Fair warning.  Outside of that, sit back and enjoy the ride.  21 and Over is gonna be a hit with the teens and twenty-somethings, but it’s also got a good heart that should make all but the coldest “grownup” happily nostalgic.

Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore keep a constant pace, with the boys moving from situation to situation without boring lags.  Along with the pacing, the editing and camerawork keep things moving right along (Jeff Chang’s getting-drunk montage is excellent.)  The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, with bass-heavy indie beats that keep the party going.  “Young Blood” by The Naked And Famous, “Man up” by The Blue Van, “Tonight’s The Night” by Outasight, “Going Out In Style” by Dropkick Murphys, and a bunch of other good stuff that will make you wish for a soundtrack album (wish granted y’all.)

Some of the gags go on a bit too long and are a bit unbelievable — sorority sisters with such a grudge they’ll scour the campus and town for hours?  Not likely — but that’s part of the fun.  I mean really; who’d really believe the Hangover guys would really have a tiger in their hotel room after a wild night?  Siegfried and Roy notwithstanding.  But 21 and Over has what so many wanna-be-naughty teen and college movies lack; a sense of pure joy.  This isn’t a group of guys trying desperately to have fun because their lives tanked.  This is a group of guys that are celebrating their youth because they know it’s fleeting.  The situations are crazy, but that’s where the funny is.  It’s blown out of proportion for entertainment’s sake, but it’s an amped version of the kind of stories everybody tells when they’re older.  “Remember that time when we…?”  By taking us on a wild ride, 21 and Over reminds us of how much fun we all had back then, and how important the bonds of lifelong friendship can be.