Main Cast: Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey, George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, Kim Cattrall
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Public safety takes a turn for the worse in this hit comedy, which spawned a long-running franchise. As a crime wave sweeps through a major city, the mayor decides that part of the problem may stem from overly restrictive qualifications for police officers, so she opens the door of the city's Police Academy to anyone who wants to join. Soon, the new class is overrun with misfits and losers, including Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), who is given the choice of joining the force or going to jail; Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), a pretty cadet whom Mahoney has his eye on; Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), a mountain of a man who likes to tend flowers; and Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), who has an uncanny ability to imitate the sound of practically anything. Constantly befuddled Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his lackey, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), are none too thrilled with their new charges, but as they try to wash their hands of the cadets, Mahoney and his classmates become all the more determined to make good. The surprising success of Police Academy spawned six sequels and two TV series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
When the critically disliked audience favorite Police Academy hit theaters, no one expected it to kick off a flimsy franchise that would go on for so long it would become an infamous mockery of the very idea of sequels, in the same league as the Friday the 13th movies. Featuring a motley bunch of one-note character actors, though not yet future mainstay Bobcat Goldthwait, Police Academy managed to spin sophomoric gold from the misfits' underdog attempts at surviving training and their sadistic instructors. Although the setup is at the intelligence level of many other T & A comedies, it clicked for viewers, perhaps because they were already lapping up such similar offerings. What probably brought in that 80 million dollars, and encouraged studio heads to keep greenlighting moronic sequels until the end of time, were such memorable elements as Michael Winslow, who became a limited celebrity based on his uncanny ability to reproduce all variety of realistic noises. Watching him perfectly mimic the whinnying of a horse and the computerized blips of Pac Man still inspires grins today. The film also made familiar faces out of David Graf and footballer Bubba Smith, as the pricelessly monikered Eugene Tackleberry and Moses Hightower, respectively. Steve Guttenberg and Kim Cattrall are the amiable types necessary to preside over this brood and keep the film moving forward on autopilot. Although its classic scenes probably resonate as such only to early teenagers, there's no denying the historical significance of a brainless comedy able to persevere through ten years of new installments and the unreserved disdain of any critic who got near it. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Bubba Smith - Moses Hightower; Andrew Rubin - George Martin; Donovan Scott - Leslie Barbara; Leslie Easterbrook - Sgt. Callahan; Marion Ramsey - Laverne Hooks; Scott Thomson - Chad Copeland; Brant Van Hoffman - Kyle Blankes; Georgina Spelvin - Hooker; Beth Amos - Old Lady; Gary Farmer - Sidewalk Store Owner; David Graf - Eugene Tackleberry; Don Lake - Mr. Wig; Gene Mack - Thug; Bruce Mahler - Doug Fackler; Gino Marrocco - Arresting Cop; Michael J. Reynolds - Office Executive; George R. Robertson - Chief Hurnst; Debra Scott - Mrs. Fackler; Peter Cox - Bar Patron; Joe Dunne; Ted Hanlan - Tough; Dwayne McLean - Bar Patron; Ted Ross - Capt. Reed; Doug Lennox - Bad Guy; J. Winston Carroll - Officer; Joyce Gordon - Mrs. Thompson; Jim Bearden - Driver; Marco Bianco - Tough; David Clement - Officer; Barry Green - Cadet with Hat; Bill Lynn - Parking Lot Manager; Bruce McFee - Supply Clerk; Rob Watson - Tough; George E. Zeeman - Officer; Wally Bondarenko - Officer; Roger Dunn - Booking Sergeant; Don Payne - Barber; Bob Collins - Drill Instructor
Credit
Christopher Ryan - Costume Designer, Michael Zenon - First Assistant Director, Hugh Wilson - Director, Robert Brown - Editor, Zach Staenberg - Editor, Robert Folk - Composer (Music Score), Trevor Williams - Production Designer, Michael D. Margulies - Cinematographer, James Margellos - Production Manager, Paul Maslansky - Producer, Steve Shewchuk - Set Designer, David Lee - Sound/Sound Designer, Neal Israel - Screenwriter, Pat Proft - Screenwriter, Hugh Wilson - Screenwriter, Howard Brandy - Publicist
A new mayor has announced a policy requiring the police department to accept all willing recruits. Not everyone in the police force is happy about the new changes. The main character, Carey Mahoney, is a repeat offender who is forced to join the police academy as an alternative to jail, a proposal by the officer who has been lenient on Mahoney due to knowing his father. Mahoney reluctantly agrees to this and decides that he will get himself thrown out. However, the chief of police, outraged by the mayor's lowered requirements, decides that the new cadets should be forced to quit rather than being thrown out. Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris, who trains the cadets, agrees with the plan and employs tactics to make their lives as miserable as possible so that they do in fact quit. Mahoney tries many schemes to get thrown out as he cannot quit, as part of the deal made with the officer said if he quit, he was going to be sent to jail. But toward the middle of the film he decides to stay for good having fallen in love with Karen Thompson, a fellow police cadet played by Kim Cattrall.
While in the academy, Mahoney becomes friends with fellow cadets Larvell Jones, Eugene Tackleberry, and especially, Moses Hightower (played by former pro football great Bubba Smith), a quiet giant of a man, after helping him prepare for the critical driving test. After passing, Hightower is very thankful to Mahoney. Unfortunately, Hightower gets himself thrown out of the academy because of an incident when, after fellow cadet Laverne Hooks has been racially insulted, in which he lifts and turns over a police car with the hated cadet Copeland inside.
Soon later, Mahoney gets involved in a lunchroom brawl caused by Copeland and Blankes, and takes the blame for throwing the first punch, which finally gives Lt. Harris the green light to expel his most despised cadet. Before Mahoney actually leaves the premises, however, a major riot breaks out downtown. The resulting police emergency forces the cadets into real action for the first time. During the riot, a tough outlaw manages to steal two cadet revolvers (one from Copeland and the other from Cadet Blankes). The outlaw grabs and disarms Lt. Harris by surprise, taking the officer to the roof of a nearby building as a hostage. Mahoney, despite his past troubles with Harris, dodges gunfire and climbs to the roof in a rescue attempt. This attempt fails and Mahoney is taken as a second hostage. Just as both hostages are about to be killed, it is none other than Hightower who suddenly appears on the rooftop in civilian clothes. The former cadet, who was working at a nearby florist just minutes earlier and left his shop due to the riot, manages to convince the hostage taker he is on his side. When asking whom the hostage-taker should shoot first, Hightower points at Harris, before knocking the hostage-taker out with a massive punch, thus rescuing Mahoney and Harris just in time.
Mahoney and Hightower both graduate from the academy along with the other passing cadets, and both receive the academy's highest commendation ever bestowed upon a cadet for their rescue of Lt. Harris and capture of his kidnapper. Towards the end Mahoney is tricked by Commandant Lassard with a hooker who is good at giving blowjobs inside the podium.
The film grossed $81,198,894 in 1,587 theaters, making it the sixth biggest grossing film in the US in 1984. The film was also a success worldwide, grossing approximately $146 million. Although it was a commercial success, it did garner some criticism. The film currently has a 47% Fresh rating at the movie review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, which includes 7 positive and 8 negative reviews out of 15 reviews.[1]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film zero stars out of a possible four stars, commenting that "It's really something. It's so bad, maybe you should pool your money and draw straws and send one of the guys off to rent it so that in the future, whenever you think you're sitting through a bad comedy, he could shake his head, and chuckle tolerantly, and explain that you don't know what bad is".[2] Respected critic Vincent Canby of the The New York Times however, did give the film a favorable review.
Home video release
Police AcademyVHS (1984) The original theatrical version of the film released in 1984. In Europe it was released on VHS as Police Academy: What An Institution!
Police Academy: 20th Anniversary Special EditionDVD (1984) DVD was released around the world in 2004. Special features include a "Making of" documentary, Audio Commentary by the cast and the original theatrical trailer.
Police Academy: The Complete Collection DVD [1984-1994]: This DVD collection is a seven disc boxset which included all seven Police Academy movies released between 1984 and 1994. Police Academy 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 are in 1.85:1 widescreen, Police Academy 4 and 5 are in 1.33:1 fullscreen. All of the movies have multi-language subtitles and their own retrospective featurettes.
4 Film Favorites: Police Academy 1-4 CollectionDVD set was released Sept. 15th, 2009. This set contains the first four films in the series on two double sided discs. There is an error on the DVD artwork which proclaims that the first film is anamorphic widescreen and contains the same special features as the 20th Anniversary edition. This however isn't true as the first film is the direct port of the original DVD release which is Full Screen and contains none of the special features present on the special edition. The second and third movies are anamorphic widescreen and the fourth film is full screen. Police Academy 4-7 would be released in a DVD set entitled "4 Film Favorites: Cop Comedy Collection."
