Police Academy (1984)
Police Academy (1984)
When it comes to movies, everyone has a guilty pleasure. Even though they may be bad in its own right, people may enjoy them for whatever reason. One of my big guilty pleasures is 1984’s Police Academy. Yes, I’ll admit that I practically love the movie. It just has a lot of heart and its extremely funny. Some people may find the jokes tasteless, but then I must have a tasteless sense of humor. Oh well! These kinds of brash comedies are prevalent nowadays, but this was a rare kind of movie for 1984 and maybe that is why reviews were not as kind when the film was originally released.
The film got its premise when producer Paul Maslansky was in California shooting his big prestige film, The Right Stuff. He noticed these strange-looking people wearing police uniforms. He spoke to the worn-down police sergeant, and it was confirmed that these people (including an out-of-shape woman and an older gentleman past 50) were part of the police academy and all they could possibly do is wash them out. Neal Israel was hired to write the script, and Hugh Wilson came on board to direct the comedy. Wilson despised Israel’s script because it was too dirty, too raucous. It made him sick just to think about these foul jokes. He edited the script, but the studio would not produce the film if it was too serious. I’m glad they came to that artistic choice because the horse butt scene had me drowning in tears.
In one California city, there is a crime wave that is so bad, that many new members are needed for the police force. A decree was made by the mayor that anyone can join the police training program. The academy is now filled with these misfits including: Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) who is a parking lot attendant and after being arrested, was given the choice of the police academy or jail, Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), the pretty woman that Carey likes, Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith) who works as a florist and is one intimidating man, Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow) who can imitate any sound, Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf) who has a thing for guns, and Leslie Barbara (Donovan Scott) who is often bullied. The leader of these gang of misfits are the often-confused police commandant Eric Lassard (George Gaynes) and his right-hand man, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey). Harris wants to weed all these misfits from the program, but that may be a bad idea when one of the police cadets accidentally sets off a riot around town.
I wouldn’t say any of the individual performances are something spectacular. Instead, I think the interactions between each character is what makes the movie so darn hilarious. For example, I love the relationship between Lt. Harris and Carey Mahoney. They loathe each other and both Bailey and Guttenberg do a great job playing up their characters. My favorite character is definitely Lt. Harris. He’s a guy who tries to assert his authority but to no avail. He bears the brunt of all the physical comedy in the film such as…..ahem…..the horse behind scene. Michael Winslow also deserves a shoutout for his sound-making technique. The classroom scene where he imitates bullets….to poor Lt. Harris is comedy gold.
I am one of those folks who says Police Academy is a 1980’s comedy classic. It’s light-hearted fun and an early spoof movie. Airplane! may be a better-made spoof film, but this particular one has won my heart. I think they did a great job choosing the subject to spoof. I mean, can you imagine these kinds of misfits foiling a robbery attempt? This movie did so well at the box office that it spawned six sequels. I hope to check them out myself but I hear…..not too great things about them. But then again, this film also received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert actually gave this film ZERO stars! Yeah, no kidding! Thankfully, movies are subjective! There’s nudity, there’s cursing, but there are many laughs and it has a heart of gold!
My Grade: A-
When it comes to movies, everyone has a guilty pleasure. Even though they may be bad in its own right, people may enjoy them for whatever reason. One of my big guilty pleasures is 1984’s Police Academy. Yes, I’ll admit that I practically love the movie. It just has a lot of heart and its extremely funny. Some people may find the jokes tasteless, but then I must have a tasteless sense of humor. Oh well! These kinds of brash comedies are prevalent nowadays, but this was a rare kind of movie for 1984 and maybe that is why reviews were not as kind when the film was originally released.
The film got its premise when producer Paul Maslansky was in California shooting his big prestige film, The Right Stuff. He noticed these strange-looking people wearing police uniforms. He spoke to the worn-down police sergeant, and it was confirmed that these people (including an out-of-shape woman and an older gentleman past 50) were part of the police academy and all they could possibly do is wash them out. Neal Israel was hired to write the script, and Hugh Wilson came on board to direct the comedy. Wilson despised Israel’s script because it was too dirty, too raucous. It made him sick just to think about these foul jokes. He edited the script, but the studio would not produce the film if it was too serious. I’m glad they came to that artistic choice because the horse butt scene had me drowning in tears.
In one California city, there is a crime wave that is so bad, that many new members are needed for the police force. A decree was made by the mayor that anyone can join the police training program. The academy is now filled with these misfits including: Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) who is a parking lot attendant and after being arrested, was given the choice of the police academy or jail, Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), the pretty woman that Carey likes, Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith) who works as a florist and is one intimidating man, Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow) who can imitate any sound, Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf) who has a thing for guns, and Leslie Barbara (Donovan Scott) who is often bullied. The leader of these gang of misfits are the often-confused police commandant Eric Lassard (George Gaynes) and his right-hand man, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey). Harris wants to weed all these misfits from the program, but that may be a bad idea when one of the police cadets accidentally sets off a riot around town.
I wouldn’t say any of the individual performances are something spectacular. Instead, I think the interactions between each character is what makes the movie so darn hilarious. For example, I love the relationship between Lt. Harris and Carey Mahoney. They loathe each other and both Bailey and Guttenberg do a great job playing up their characters. My favorite character is definitely Lt. Harris. He’s a guy who tries to assert his authority but to no avail. He bears the brunt of all the physical comedy in the film such as…..ahem…..the horse behind scene. Michael Winslow also deserves a shoutout for his sound-making technique. The classroom scene where he imitates bullets….to poor Lt. Harris is comedy gold.
I am one of those folks who says Police Academy is a 1980’s comedy classic. It’s light-hearted fun and an early spoof movie. Airplane! may be a better-made spoof film, but this particular one has won my heart. I think they did a great job choosing the subject to spoof. I mean, can you imagine these kinds of misfits foiling a robbery attempt? This movie did so well at the box office that it spawned six sequels. I hope to check them out myself but I hear…..not too great things about them. But then again, this film also received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert actually gave this film ZERO stars! Yeah, no kidding! Thankfully, movies are subjective! There’s nudity, there’s cursing, but there are many laughs and it has a heart of gold!
My Grade: A-
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