Police Academy
Rent & Buy
New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were sharply divided on this raunchy ensemble comedy, with the split running less along quality lines than along tolerance for deliberately lowbrow humor. Those who embraced it found infectious energy in its anything-goes slapstick; those who didn't found it a textbook case of comedy done wrong. Audiences proved far more forgiving than critics, and the film's enduring popularity suggests the crowd had the last word.
“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”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The movie plows through one outrageous sequence to the next with the momentum of a freight train”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“Attention, all units: Slapstick in progress in the vicinity of Police Academy. Suspects wanted for mugging the camera [...] with the intent to incite a laugh riot. Please respond to this blues burlesque, a uniformly funny hit sure to have a long run.”
Rita Kemply·The Washington Post
Genres
Comedy, Crime
Cast & Crew
Hugh WilsonDirector
Steve GuttenbergCarey Mahoney
Kim CattrallKaren Thompson
G.W. BaileyLieutenant Harris
Bubba SmithMoses Hightower
Donovan ScottLeslie Barbara
George GaynesCommandant Lassard
Andrew RubinGeorge Martin
David GrafTackleberry
Leslie EasterbrookSergeant Callahan
Michael WinslowLarvell Jones
Debralee ScottMrs. Fackler
Bruce MahlerDoug Fackler
Robert FolkComposer
Neal IsraelWriter
Pat ProftWriterPolice Academy
New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were sharply divided on this raunchy ensemble comedy, with the split running less along quality lines than along tolerance for deliberately lowbrow humor. Those who embraced it found infectious energy in its anything-goes slapstick; those who didn't found it a textbook case of comedy done wrong. Audiences proved far more forgiving than critics, and the film's enduring popularity suggests the crowd had the last word.
“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”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“The movie plows through one outrageous sequence to the next with the momentum of a freight train”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“Attention, all units: Slapstick in progress in the vicinity of Police Academy. Suspects wanted for mugging the camera [...] with the intent to incite a laugh riot. Please respond to this blues burlesque, a uniformly funny hit sure to have a long run.”
Rita Kemply·The Washington Post
Genres
Comedy, Crime
Cast & Crew
Hugh WilsonDirectorSteve GuttenbergCarey MahoneyKim CattrallKaren ThompsonG.W. BaileyLieutenant HarrisBubba SmithMoses HightowerDonovan ScottLeslie BarbaraGeorge GaynesCommandant LassardAndrew RubinGeorge MartinDavid GrafTackleberryLeslie EasterbrookSergeant CallahanMichael WinslowLarvell JonesDebralee ScottMrs. FacklerBruce MahlerDoug FacklerRobert FolkComposerNeal IsraelWriterPat ProftWriterRent & Buy