Police Academy (1984)

Director:

Hugh Wilson

Writers:

Neal Israel (screenplay) &
Pat Proft (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Be a police officer. All you do is join the farce.

Plot:

A group of good-hearted but incompotent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Police Academy | Cadet | Police Officer | Lieutenant

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Steve Guttenberg	...	Carey Mahoney
Kim Cattrall	...	Karen Thompson
G.W. Bailey	...	Lt. Harris (as G. W. Bailey)
Bubba Smith	...	Moses Hightower
Donovan Scott	...	Leslie Barbara
George Gaynes	...	Commandant Lassard
Andrew Rubin	...	George Martín
David Graf	...	Tackleberry
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Sgt. Callahan
Michael Winslow	...	Larvell Jones
Debralee Scott	...	Mrs. Fackler
Bruce Mahler	...	Doug Fackler
Ted Ross	...	Captain Reed
Scott Thomson	...	Chad Copeland
Brant von Hoffman	...	Kyle Blankes (as Brant Van Hoffman)

Also Known As:

Police Academy: What an Institution! (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:M | Spain:13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:7 (re-rating) (2004) | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (#27106) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

The only Police Academy movie to feature Eric Lassard's wife.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Hightower flips the police cruiser over, we can see that there is no engine in the car when Lt. Harris is reprimanding him.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris: Now, I thought it would be nice if we were to close out our first afternoon together with a nice little stroll around the campus.
[shouts]
Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris: Move out, maggots!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: The Springfield Connection (#6.23)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

I'M GONNA BE SOMEBODY

This shows that movies can be stupid and funny at the same time.

Okay, so "Police Academy" is probably the ultimate manifestation of the word "witless". But it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is: nice, silly fun. The plot basically has a series of goof-off misfits enrolling in the police force and turning it topsy-turvy. Steve Guttenberg, as Cadet Carey Mahoney, may have to remember this as his peak in movies, and he does a pretty good job here.

Anyway, the movie is pretty much an excuse to be silly. And they do just that. With hilarious one-liners and one gag after another, you won't be disappointed. Of course, I advise you not to watch it if you're the type who only wants to see "important" movies.