Review of Police Academy (1984) by Kai82 — 06 May 2021

One of the best and well received comedies of its time. It was a surprise hit that started a successful franchise that is sadly so dormant that it is forgotten at the time of writing. In my youth this was a movie you just had to watch (Nearly everyone in my age group had seen it, talked a lot about it and most say it was excellent).

The strengths are its charming cast of character, the humor and that the movie takes itself not that serious. I must give a nostalgia warning here as I think I am influenced by it and childhood memories.

Story: Because of a shortage of adequate candidates for police officers it was decided to lower the requirements for the Police Academy (drastically). This lets a remarkable cast of new recruits enroll.

Some have enjoyable quirks, special skills, are parodies of stereotypes or are just comical (Sometimes multiple of those at once). This is the start of an attack on your risible muscles. All jokes work and are well written.

They took a lot of effort to avoid any misfire and this makes the movie so memorable. You have slapstick, pranks, wordplay and schemes that are enjoyable. The characters enhance the performance and they are a bunch of charming and likable people.

Lets start with Steve Guttenberg as Carey Mahoney. He is a scoundrel with a silver tongue and a clever schemer who is forced into the Academy. Then we have Bubba Smith as Moses Hightower. He is the giant with the hearth of gold and seemingly superhuman strength.

Now we get to Michael Winslow playing Larvell Jones. He can imitate all noises and use this to his advantage (and for humor). This is his acting and real life trademark and well used in the franchise.

With David Graf as Eugene Tackleberry we get a gun nerd. He is such a good character and stereotype. I want also name the head of the Academy Eric Lassard. He often seems like a lame duck or a bit quirky but you should never underestimate him and his abilities.

He is a master in many things. With Laverne Hooks played by Marion Ramsey we get a shy character who is truly awesome behind this. With Thaddeus Harris we got a fine antagonist. He is such a likable bad guy.

I think a picture of him in the “Love to hate” category for villains is absolutely fitting. It is so satisfying when he is tricked or when the others make his plans backfire. There are a lot more characters but those lay the foundation.

It is no wonder how the cast became so iconic. They were legendary in their time. The rest is history as the movie made an impact that started a franchise with 6 sequels and 2 TV series if I remember correctly.

Overall this is one of my childhood favorites for comedies. I have re-watched it so many times in TV. The humor and characters are still great and it beats easily many if not all of the more modern spoof movies (Which is actually not much of a challenge).

An easy recommendation for me with the standard nostalgia warning. Additional info: The franchise is dormant for a long time. I read that a reboot is in development hell since 2002 or 2003 and I have not heard anything about it in years.