Small-screen remakes don’t always make big box office

21 Jump Street is the latest TV show reworked for cinema, but trading on nostalgia has a history of mixed success, says Paula Burns

Never go back with an ex, goes the old adage, because you broke up for a reason. The moguls in Hollywood should take this approach to remakes.

Then, the cinemas wouldn’t be flooded with poor versions of TV shows, ruining the memories of our youth. Us kids of the 80s are the prime targets now, it seems.

This week sees the release of one of the best-loved TV programmes of the ’80s — at least for 30somethings like me. 21 Jump Street was a cult classic in Ireland. It was shown on Sky1, a little-known channel, so not everyone was aware of the TV show that launched the career of Johnny Depp.

A fresh-faced Depp played Officer Tom Hanson, of the precinct 21 Jump Street. Most of the officers, including Depp’s co-star Richard Grieco, looked young enough to pass for teenagers, and so they went undercover in high schools or colleges.

The success of the show brought unwanted teen idol attention to Depp. Because of his good looks, he was deemed the next Hollywood heartthrob, a status which didn’t sit well with the actor. Depp prefers to play the more obscure characters than the guy with the chiselled looks.

The series ran for four seasons, from 1987-1991, and then Depp was relieved of his contract.

Jonah Hill writes and stars in 21 Jump Street (the movie), which opens here this weekend. Again, the fresh-faced cops are sent undercover into a high school to bust a drugs ring. Presumably, the tasty Channing Tatum, who co-stars, is the Depp equivalent of eye-candy. With Hill in the writer’s seat, expect this to be more comedy then gruesome cop action.

The trailer was met with mixed reviews on the internet, with fans of the show feeling that it was going in a different direction to the original, although a cameo by Depp should settle fans a bit. With a sequel already being written, producers are banking on Hill’s comedic magic to make this a box-office hit.

The 21 Jump Street revival is just another in a long line of TV show-inspired remakes. In recent years we have seen Miami Vice; The A-team; Transformers; Charlie’s Angels; Bewitched and Get Smart make it onto the big screen.

It may be easy money for Hollywood, but does it always work?

For the Transformers family, it has. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the 11th highest earning movie ever at the US box office, bringing in $402,076,689. The remake of the 1980s cartoon sits just one place ahead of the highest earning Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2, earning more than any of the Lord of The Rings trilogy movies. Who knew robots in disguise and Megan Fox had so much pulling power?

Miami Vice also had a brief run of success, knocking Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest off the number one spot in the US after Pirates had led the box office for almost a full month.

The movie, which starred Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, grossed over $25.7m in its opening weekend, earning in total $164m worldwide, helping to further surpass the reported $135m budget.

Directed by Michael Mann, it stands as one of his top three most financially successful films, next to Heat and Collateral.

But the A-Team movie wasn’t such a success. For such a popular TV programme and with a movie filled with Hollywood names from Bradley Cooper to Liam Neeson, it was surprising it fell short at filling cinema seats.

Talks of doing the movie began over ten years before production started, after numerous writers and directors looked into it. It was directed by Joe Carnahan. However, the film was met with mixed reviews.

The original cast were also unsure of the movie, with Mr T, aka B A Baracus, being angered when he wasn’t chosen to play his original character.

It’s understandable that Hollywood may think that bringing our old favourites to the silver screen would be popular. There’s no harm in a bit of fluffy nostalgia, after all.

Unfortunately, the transition is not always what we expect. We miss the original characters, and the story lines don’t always match up. Maybe 21 Jump Street the movie will change all that, but I won’t be holding my breath.

* 21 Jump Street (Sony Pictures) opens nationwide tomorrow.

FIVE OF THE BEST BIG SCREEN REMAKES

Miami Vice: Sun, Sea, Sex and bit of detective work thrown into the mix. And of course the gorgeous Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell (above). What more could you need?

Charlie’s Angels: Ever since the Spice Girls, everyone loves a bit of girl power. With a great cast and great action, these movies were a sure-fire hit.

Transformers: Giant Robots protecting humans against other Giant Robots, with fantastic special effects and a hot chick, made for a box office hit.

Dukes of Hazzard: According to the blokes, fast car chases and Jessica Simpson in hot pants is all you need for a movie hit.

Sex and the City: This one is for the girls and my guilty pleasure. It may not be quite an old favourite, but if not purely for the fashion, and Mr Big, it deserves a mention.