I have a terrible confession – I absolutely adore the Police Academy movies (well, at least the first four). If you were a child in the 80s, the Police Academy movies were unavoidable (I rented them multiple times from the video store and watched them whenever they aired on television). Police Academy 4 was my favorite out of the lot, for reasons that I will get into later. In his movie guide, Leonard Maltin gives the first movie a (fair) two and a half star review, but gives a BOMB rating to the rest of the series (with the exception of the one and half star rating he gives to Police Academy 3). I don’t want to harp on Maltin too badly here (as I have in the past) because his negative reviews are not exactly out of line. The problem I have with four (sometime five) star rating system is that, while it’s an apt barometer when it comes to the quality of movies, it leaves very little room in terms of actual film analysis for a movie (yes, even the Police Academy movies are worthy of film analysis). When Maltin gives a BOMB rating to a movie, is he implying that it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever? Is it really that offensive to the human senses? If you have read my blog before (all five of you), then you know it is my position that even the worst movies often have some value to them (if not from a narrative stand point, then certainly from a historical one).
The first Police Academy had a fairly conventional narrative, while the sequels were more episodic in structure. The first movie is more in line with Animal House and Caddyshack with its raunchy humor (there is female nudity and lots of sexual humor - the most famous scene is when Commandant Lassard is trying to give a lecture while a prostitute, hidden in the podium, gives him a blow job.) While Animal House is a classic of the genre, I have never really understood the classic status that has been granted to Caddyshack. Sure, there are a few funny scenes with Bill Murray, but it is laden with one of the least charismatic lead actors in movie history - Michael O' Keefe as Danny. Steven Guttenberg, while often the bane of many Simpsons jokes, is a much livelier lead than O' Keefe, and at least his character, Carey Mahoney, is given an actual character arc. Danny's main struggle is whether or not he belong with the snobs (uptight rich white men) or the slobs (laid back rich white men). There is really not much at stake. However, enough with the Caddyshack bashing, let's get back to the review.
As the Police Academy series rolled along they became more slapstick (and kid friendly) in nature. In Police Academy 5: Assignment - Miami Beach, there is a scene where Tackleberry pulls a gun on an intruding shark and then orders it to leave the beach area – it was only inevitable that there would be a Police Academy cartoon and comic book. The first movie, while shot on a small budget, is fairly cinematic, while the sequels often resemble TV sitcoms (the director of Police Academy 4, Jim Drake, directed plenty of television sitcoms before helming this movie). When the series went full slap stick, the role of Mahoney was greatly reduced to make room for more colorful supporting characters – most notably the motor mouthed Zed, the gun enthusiast Tackleberry, the nerdy Sweetchuck, and Jones, the walking sound effects machine.
I want to note that, while I may personally enjoy the Police Academy series, the mainstream critics
are more than justified in their extreme dislike for them, especially Police Academy 4. After watching it again for this review,
I was surprised by how disjointed the movie was (it looks like it was edited by
a chainsaw): story lines are introduced only to be abandoned: Tackleberry’s
father in law announces he wants to join the new police program and disappears after
his one scene; the sleazy lawyer, Butterworth, apparently has a scheme to make
Lassard’s (Citizen On Patrol –C.O.P.) new program work to his benefit and then is practically relegated to an extra.
Characters often disappear for a
long stretch of time: Hooks’ role is practically a cameo; Sharon Stone’s
character, reporter Claire Mattson, mainly exists so she can pilot a plane in
the movie’s finale; and finally, there is very little urgency in the actual
narrative (Harris wants the C.O.P. program shut down, but that’s more of an
idle threat). It’s a sloppily made
movie that is overcrowded with characters, and recycled gags from the previous
movie, and this begs the obvious question – Why do I like this movie?
Well, here are just a few reasons:
1. Zed/Laura romance.
It was only natural that Zed be given a love interest (after all, Tackleberry was given one in Police Academy 2); she comes in the form of the bookish Laura, who Zed first meets while giving a lecture at a woman’s club. It certainly helps that Corinne Bohrer is genuinely funny and holds her own against Goldthwait’s mugging. This is essentially the heart of the movie, Laura doesn’t want to change Zed, she accepts him for he is and Zed realizes that he is lucky to have her. In fact, the movie should really end with Zed and Laura flying off in a hot air balloon, instead of Mahoney and Claire, the generic love interest.
It was only natural that Zed be given a love interest (after all, Tackleberry was given one in Police Academy 2); she comes in the form of the bookish Laura, who Zed first meets while giving a lecture at a woman’s club. It certainly helps that Corinne Bohrer is genuinely funny and holds her own against Goldthwait’s mugging. This is essentially the heart of the movie, Laura doesn’t want to change Zed, she accepts him for he is and Zed realizes that he is lucky to have her. In fact, the movie should really end with Zed and Laura flying off in a hot air balloon, instead of Mahoney and Claire, the generic love interest.
2. The pairing up of Captain Harris and Proctor.
Police Academy 4 was the first movie to pair up the tyrannical Captain Harris with the childlike Proctor, to great effect. It’s not too surprising that in the next two movies the focus is more on them than the Academy regulars, because, frankly, they are more fun to watch. Proctor is an interesting character – there is a sense that he is a genuinely good guy who has been influenced by the wrong crowd. There is no malice in his actions; he just wants to win the approval of his superiors. There is a delightful moment in Police Academy 6 that, through a set of contrivances, Proctor is forced to commodore a city bus to chase after the villain but, rather inexplicably, decides to pick up passengers along the way. It is absolutely chaotic – with passengers being tossed about in their seats as Proctor speeds through the downtown area. He finally drops off the passengers and, as they are exiting the bus, a little girl walks up to him and says, “You are much better than the regular driver.” Proctor, of course, takes great pride in this, while all Harris can do is roll his eyes.
Police Academy 4 was the first movie to pair up the tyrannical Captain Harris with the childlike Proctor, to great effect. It’s not too surprising that in the next two movies the focus is more on them than the Academy regulars, because, frankly, they are more fun to watch. Proctor is an interesting character – there is a sense that he is a genuinely good guy who has been influenced by the wrong crowd. There is no malice in his actions; he just wants to win the approval of his superiors. There is a delightful moment in Police Academy 6 that, through a set of contrivances, Proctor is forced to commodore a city bus to chase after the villain but, rather inexplicably, decides to pick up passengers along the way. It is absolutely chaotic – with passengers being tossed about in their seats as Proctor speeds through the downtown area. He finally drops off the passengers and, as they are exiting the bus, a little girl walks up to him and says, “You are much better than the regular driver.” Proctor, of course, takes great pride in this, while all Harris can do is roll his eyes.
3.
It is the most surreal of the Police Academy movies.
I’m a big fan of surrealism, therefore, it’s surprising just how surreal Police Academy 4 is at times (though, I’m sure it’s unintentional). In one of its most nonsensical moments, Arnie is paddling on an exercise bike, only for it to break off its supports and roll right into a swimming pool. However, rather than get off the bike and swim to the surface, Arnie continues to ride the bike underwater. He keeps peddling away, completely oblivious to his watery surroundings. In another scene, the gang plays a prank on Proctor by lifting the port a potty he’s in and placing it in the center of a football field. They detach the sides and Proctor is sitting on the toilet, in the middle of a football field, while the crowd looks on. The National Anthem beings to play and rather walk off the field in embarrassment, Proctor stands up and places his hand over his heart. In one of the funnier moments, a group of criminals manage to break out of prison by tricking Proctor into playing a game of Simon Says.
I’m a big fan of surrealism, therefore, it’s surprising just how surreal Police Academy 4 is at times (though, I’m sure it’s unintentional). In one of its most nonsensical moments, Arnie is paddling on an exercise bike, only for it to break off its supports and roll right into a swimming pool. However, rather than get off the bike and swim to the surface, Arnie continues to ride the bike underwater. He keeps peddling away, completely oblivious to his watery surroundings. In another scene, the gang plays a prank on Proctor by lifting the port a potty he’s in and placing it in the center of a football field. They detach the sides and Proctor is sitting on the toilet, in the middle of a football field, while the crowd looks on. The National Anthem beings to play and rather walk off the field in embarrassment, Proctor stands up and places his hand over his heart. In one of the funnier moments, a group of criminals manage to break out of prison by tricking Proctor into playing a game of Simon Says.
4. It’s an interesting time capsule.
Police Academy 4 beings with Mahoney and Jones jamming to a rap song (“Citizens on Patrol”) that is playing on the radio. This wouldn’t be so unusual in 2016, because rap has become a part of mainstream culture, but in 1987, rap music was just starting to get embraced by white audiences (in 1986, Run – DMC did a cover of “Walk This Way” with Steven Tyler doing guest vocals and Joe Perry on guitar; The Beastie Boys released “Licence to Ill”), therefore it was a bit jarring to see a studio financed movie (albeit a low budget one) open up with a rap song. It also has my favorite of all subplots – the wacky skateboarders. Skate boarding, like rap, had been a subculture for some time, but it really picked up momentum in the 1980s, thus it was something the producers could exploit. At one point, the movie comes to a complete stand still to give us a montage of cool skateboard stunts (one of the skateboarders is a young Tony Hawk). It is extremely gratuitous, but my eight year-old self thought it was awesome.
5. TV version vs. the theatrical cut.
One of the main reason I chose Police Academy 4 to review, as opposed to the earlier entries, is to highlight the differences between the theatrical version and the television cut (that aired in the 1980s). In many ways, at least from a narrative stand point, the television cut is superior to the theatrical version. It does a much better job of establishing characters and setting up the ending. In the theatrical version, Sharon Stone's character (reporter Claire Mattson) is a complete nonentity; there is a brief moment that establishes her as Mahoney's love interest and then is forgotten about until the movie's climax. Her relationship with Mahoney (and Captain Harris) is expanded upon in the television cut, and she is given something of arc (she goes from being skeptical of Lassard's program to being sympathetic towards it). It is baffling as to why the scenes were cut, because not only do they show character development, but both are rather funny (Harris nearly gets ripped apart by Claire's dog).
The television cut also has one of the funniest scenes in the entire series - Sweetchuck apprehending a purse snatcher. He cases the thief into a fun house and, realizing that the culprit is twice his size, decides to trick the man into surrendering. Sweetchuck starts barking orders to his "fellow officers" and then cautions Jones to careful with "that bazooka." After hearing that line, the thief gives up and it's only after Sweetchuck has handcuffed him that he realizes he's been duped. It's not only a funny scene, but it actually sets up the finale to the movie - the man who Sweetchuck arrests (Zack) is the one who leads that jail breakout at the end.
6. In the commentary for the first movie, producer
Paul Maslansky says the main reason for the success of the Police Academy franchise was because they weren’t “mean spirited." The Police Academy movies were, essentially, a counterpoint to the violent action movies of the 1980s. While Schwarzenegger and Stallone were indiscriminately blowing away the bad guys, the misfits of Police Academy didn't spill blood and would often find nonlethal ways to capture the villains:
Jones would use his vocal talents to trick gang members into believing they were been shot at; the elderly Miss Feldman thwarts a bank robbery by driving a motorcycle through the front window.
It is also refreshing that when they did a major slip up, the movie called them out on it, rather than glossing over the fact (Miss Feldman, Laura, and Butterworth manage to ruin a sting operation). The Police Academy series were incredibly optimistic movies where people from different backgrounds (rich, poor, black, white) got together for the greater good of society. The characters evolved throughout the course of the series; in Police Academy 2, Sweetchuck is constantly being harassed by Zed and his gang - by the time part four rolls along they have become a good friends. Sure, it's not as exciting as John Rambo taking down the entire Vietnamese Army by himself, but it's much, much nicer.
CreditsCast: Steve Guttenberg (Sgt. Mahoney), G.W. Bailey (Captain Harris), Michael Winslow (Sgt. Jones), David Graf (Sgt. Tackleberry), Bobcat Goldthwait (Zed), Corinne Bohrer (Laura), Bubba Smith (Sgt. Hightower), Tim Kazurinsky (Sweetchuck), George Gaynes (Commandant Lassard), Sharon Stone (Claire Mattson), Brian Backer (Arnie), David Spade (Kyle), Leslie Easterbrook (Lt. Callahan), Lance Kinsey (Proctor), Billie Bird (Mrs. Feldman), Tab Thacker (House), Marion Ramsey (Sgt. Hooks), Derek McGrath (Butterworth), Scott Thomson (Sgt. Copeland), Brian Tochi (Officer Nogata), Randall "Tex" Cobb (Zack),
Colleen Camp (Sgt. Kathleen Kirkland - Hightower), Andrew Paris (Officer Bud Kirkland), Arthur Batanides (Mr. Kirkland), Jackie Joseph (Mrs. Kirkland), George R. Robertson (Chief Hurst).
Director: Jim Drake
Screenplay: Gene Quintano
Running Time: 88 min.
