Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)

Director:

Jim Drake

Writers:

Neal Israel (characters)
Pat Proft (characters)

Release Date:

3 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Take off with the original cast... and some new civilian recruits as they take to the streets and the skies to fight crime.

Plot:

The misfit Police Academy graduates now are assigned to train a group of civilian volunteers to fight crime once again plaguing the streets.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Police Academy | Humorous Female Cop | Sergeant | Nutty Cop

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Steve Guttenberg	...	Sgt. Carey Mahoney
Bubba Smith	...	Sgt. Moses Hightower
Michael Winslow	...	Sgt. Larvelle Jones
David Graf	...	Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry
Tim Kazurinsky	...	Officer Sweetchuck
Sharon Stone	...	Claire Mattson
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Lt. Debbie Callahan
Marion Ramsey	...	Sgt. Laverne Hooks
Lance Kinsey	...	Lt. Proctor
G.W. Bailey	...	Captain Harris
Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Officer Zed
George Gaynes	...	Cmndt. Eric Lassard
Derek McGrath	...	Butterworth
Scott Thomson	...	Sgt. Chad Copeland
Billie Bird	...	Mrs. Lois Feldman

Also Known As:

Citizens on Patrol: Police Academy 4 (UK) (poster title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:6 | Iceland:L | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-10 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:PG (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Burleigh Falls, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This was David Spade's first film role.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Copeland and his partner have Arnie and Kyle blocked off in the alley, Copeland's partner's voice is heard radioing Captain Harris, although his lips are not moving, nor does he even pick up the radio.

Quotes:

Capt. Thaddeus Harris: Citizens On Patrol. What a joke. You know what C.O.P. really stands for Proctor?
Proctor: No sir what?
Capt. Thaddeus Harris: Collection Of Pissants.
[Proctor laughs]
Capt. Thaddeus Harris: That's not funny Proctor.
Proctor: No sir.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: I Accuse My Parents (#6.7)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen

Fair

Police Academy 4 (1987)

** (out of 4)

The police force is overworked and understaffed so they come up with an idea to train citizens so that they can patrol their own streets. Of course our gang gets a group of rejects that they must train into shape. This was the beginning of the end for this series and while there are a few funny scenes the thing still can't keep afloat. The regular cast including Guttenberg, Smith, Winslow, Graf and Easterbrook are back but we've also got G.W. Bailey coming back as Harris, the main villain from the first film. Harris actually steals the film and gives an energized performance but that still isn't saying too much as the screenplay is very weak and basically just recycles jokes from previous films. Even the regulars seem rather tired and bored. Bobcat Goldthwait is back as well but most of his jokes seemed aimed at his bad speech. Heck, we even get a pre-fame Sharon Stone and David Spade but neither add much. The best sequence for me has always been the one where the veterans try to teach the new guys that they aren't ready to be police and take them out on the case of a voodoo man who is actually being played by Smith.