|
|
|
|
Police Academy (film)
|
| |
|
| |
Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and G.W. Bailey. It grossed approximately $146 million worldwide and spawned six sequels.
w 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.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Police Academy (film)' Start a new discussion about 'Police Academy (film)' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and G.W. Bailey. It grossed approximately $146 million worldwide and spawned six sequels.
Taglines
- The new police recruits. Call them slobs. Call them jerks. Call them gross. ...Just don't call them when you're in trouble.
- Be a police officer. All you do is join the force.
- When THEY hit the streets, even the bad guys die laughing.
Plot
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 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.
While in the academy, Mahoney befriends fellow cadet 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, after a fellow cadet 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 who 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.
Cast
Reception
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. 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".
Respected critic Vincent Canby of the The New York Times however, did give the film a favorable review.
Home video release
- Police Academy VHS (1984) The original theatrical version of the film released in 1984. In Europe was released on VHS as Police Academy: What An Institution!
- Police Academy: 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD (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. In the US boxset, all of the movies are presented in 1.85:1 widescreen format but on the region two DVDs. 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.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
