Kindergarten Cop (1990)

A tough cop is given his most difficult assignment: masquerade as a a kindergarten teacher in order to find a drug dealer.

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Murray Salem (story), Murray Salem (screenplay),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Detective John Kimble
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Joyce Palmieri / Rachel Crisp
Pamela Reed	...	Detective Phoebe O'Hara
Linda Hunt	...	Miss Schlowski
Richard Tyson	...	Cullen Crisp, Sr.
Carroll Baker	...	Eleanor Crisp
Cathy Moriarty	...	Sylvester's Mother
Joseph Cousins	...	Dominic Palmieri / Cullen Crisp, Jr.
Christian Cousins	...	Dominic Palmieri / Cullen Crisp, Jr.
Park Overall	...	Samantha's Mother
Jayne Brook	...	Zach's Mother
Richard Portnow	...	Captain Salazar
Tom Kurlander	...	Danny
Alix Koromzay	...	Cindy
Betty Lou Henson	...	Keisha's Mother

Storyline

John Kimble is a tough city cop who's been on the trail of drug dealer Cullen Crisp for years. He finally tracks Crisp down but it seems the only person that can testify against him is his ex-wife. The problem is she's disappeared and all Kimble knows is the name of the school in Oregon where her son attends. When things don't quite go to plan, Kimble finds he has to go undercover on his toughest assignment yet - Kindergarten teacher!

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | astoria | kindergarten | kindergarten teacher | undercover | 

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Taglines:

An undercover cop in a class by himself.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un detective en el kinder

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$91,457,688 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kimble swears in German as he carries his colleague into the house. ("Das macht mich stinksauer! Jetzt bin ich sauer!", which means "That makes me pissed as hell! Now I am pissed!").

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Goofs

After the class practices their Gettysburg Address recital in the gymnasium, Kimble is walking them back into the classroom as Zach is being rushed into school by his mother. She apologizes for him being late, claiming the car wouldn't start. But Zach could clearly be seen standing with his classmates during the practice recital earlier in the gym.

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Quotes

Phoebe: Not so tough without your car, are yeah?

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #18.5 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"The Party Starts Now!"
Music by Andy Shernoff
Performed by Manitoba's Wild Kingdom

User Reviews

This movie should be so bad, and yet...

So I'm watching KINDERGARTEN COP in a bit of a stupor because the remote control is too far for me to reach when I suddenly realize something amazing: This movie is fantastic. In the calculus of Hollywood dreck, KINDERGARTEN COP doesn't add up. Take 1 muscle-bound action hero, a dozen too-cute kids and a plot so contrived it makes an episode of any television sit-com look downright plausible and you should have a mess fit only for release straight to video in Third World nations--do not pass "Go" (or your local metroplex) or collect $200. In fact, I would love to meet both the person who pitched this idea and the studio head who gave it the green light:

Pitchman: "Imagine MARY POPPINS without the namby-pamby animation and music and twice the butt-kicking! Oh, and instead of Dick Van Dyke faking a British accent we'll have Arnold Schwarzenegger faking intelligible dialog!" Studio Exec: "I love it! Here's umpteen million dollars to get it made!"

And the freakin' movie works! It really does. The script is filled with some great lines (My favorite, of course: "It's not a tumor!"), sweet characters and some low-key acting from the principles that keeps the story from becoming maudlin. This is one of maybe three movies I can think of that I would be comfortable watching with my parents, minor relatives or beer-drinking buddies. (Coincidentally, another one of the three is GHOSTBUSTERS, also an Ivan Reitman flick.) It has bloodless action, quotable lines and an ending that is satisfying. It just shouldn't exist. Maybe the fact that it does exist proves the William Goldman line about Hollywood: "Nobody knows nothing."

Take some advice from your Uncle Guy: If you're stuck with the kids or a date you don't know and you need to sit at home and watch a movie, put in KINDERGARTEN COP. You won't be disappointed, and you just might like it. And this advice comes from a big curmudgeon.