10
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- Not even the presence of the irrepressible David Johansen (here playing the Gunther Toody role originated by the ineffable Joe E. Ross on the ’60s television show) and a paddy wagon full of engaging Noo Yawk types can pull Car 54, Where Are You?‘s woebegone comedy out of the vulgar ditch that its screenwriters drove it into.
- 30The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThough it has a potentially funny cast, this sprawling comedy has been made in a near-total wit vacuum.
- 25The Seattle TimesJeff ShannonThe Seattle TimesJeff ShannonCar 54, Where are You? is an insult to the popular late-1950's TV show that inspired it.
- CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? adds nothing to the police comedy genre that another POLICE ACADEMY couldn't provide.
- Gone is the working-class charm and truly clever, humorous situations evocative of the early 1960s and in their place, all the sophomoric, redundant jokes reminiscent of the Police Academy films. Even stars from the original show -- Nipsey Russell and Al Lewis -- can't save it.
- 10VarietyBrian LowryVarietyBrian LowryCrude, virtually laughless and aimed at a target audience that's probably never heard of the source material, "Car 54" should have a short patrol of theaters before being towed away to the vacant lot of "10 worst" lists.
- 10Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasThanks to a relentlessly terrible script by many hands, it's a dumb movie about dumb cops that should have remained on the shelf, where it's been sitting for over two years. [31 Jan 1994, p.F5]
- Car 54, Where Are You? is a stupid movie. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid. If you pay money to see it, then you're stupid.
- 0Baltimore SunStephen HunterBaltimore SunStephen HunterIf the movie were merely unfunny, one might dismiss it with an airy wave of the hand in a paragraph or two without breaking a sweat or digging into the old adjective tool box, but "Car 54, Where Are You?" is actively repulsive.
- 0Chicago TribuneJohn PetrakisChicago TribuneJohn PetrakisThe film has none of the charm of the series.