Police Academy

Last night I watched Police Academy. One of my favorite movies. Not something I watch all the time. But I will catch it on cable or like Saturday pop in the dvd and its good for a lot of laughs. I remember the first time I saw it. It was 1990, I was 9 years old and I was living in Guntersville. My mama had borrowed some tapes from somebody. In Guntersville if you did not have cable you were out of luck with tv. Because local stations were near impossible to pick up.

Well on one of the tapes was Police Academy. I think I watched it at least ten or twelve times over the course of the next month or two. I was only nine so some of the jokes went over my head. One being I had no idea what that prostitute was doing to Lassard under that podium. Harris getting his head stuck in a horses ass horrified me, Actually it still does. Police Academy was probably the second time I saw tits in a movie. The first being i swear to god Total Recall.

Now I realize these movies are not liked by everybody. But I find what I like (and im guessing others) are what others hate. Like the jokes having obvious punch lines. To me thats a part of the fun. Its the anticipation of the punch line. When you see that old lady ask Tackleberry to help get her cat out of the tree you know what is going to happen. Tackleberry is going to shoot the cat.

The characters

Carey Mahoney: Your typical 80s scheming, charming conniving asshole. Played by Steve Gutenberg. The scene where he puts a hooker under a podium to give Cmnt Lassard a blow job is one of the greatest scenes ever. Also I can be honest I was touched how by the end of the movie he actually wants to be a cop.

Eugene Tackleberry: Tackleberry is the gun nut. A lot of the time its the same joke over and over. One of the small things I noticed was the party scene where is playing the saxophone. I like seeing the side interest of really fanatical people. Like a guy who is obsessed with weapons also liking jazz seems interesting to me. Or that the party scene played into the second movie where it was revealed he was a virgin. Im sure it was not intentional but its cool how things like that work out. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is at the end when he is banging his head on a car. When asked what was wrong Barbara explained "There was gun play and he missed it."

Leslie Barbara: The heavy set wimp recruit. He was thrown off a bridge inside a photo hut. Another of my favorite scenes was him beating up the guys who threw him off the bridge. This is his first and last appearance.

George Martin: Speaking of characters with one appearance. George Martin is a fake Latino heart throb. Sneaking over to the ladies barracks in drag. I liked the part when he is limping the next day after being sexually mauled by Calahan. I guess they did not need a fake Mexican Mahoney.

Moses Hightower: Played by Bubba Smith. He is the scary looking giant. I always wondered why he was not allowed to be a cop sooner. I get the fat guy, the women and the gun nut. But why would you not want Hightower as a cop?

Copeland: Sure are a lot of spades here.(Turns and sees Hightower staring down at him) And thats a good thing.

Copeland and Blanks: The two bad guy cadets. The only main characters with no real redeeming qualities. Copeland appears to be a racist. While Blanks is a dickhead.


Hooks: "Don't move Dirtbag!!!!" Also the scene where she is role playing at stopping a burglar with Lt.Harris, cracked me up. "Freeze this is a stick up."

Larvell Jones: That guy that does the sound effects. zap, pow , door open, horse sopund, sqeaky wheel. My favorite scene with him is Harris looking bewildered seeing him playing a video game with no tv.

Lt. Harris: The main antagonist. The crusty old dean. This is the only movie in the series where he seems like he actually cares about being a good cop. He actually has grounds for disliking some of them. That the goof offs are keeping him from training some good cops. He plays off everybody perfectly. From hating Mahoney to fearing Hightower to trying to get Hooks to speak up to making Barbara run to keeping Tackleberry from killing somebody.

Fackler: The clumsy guy who was always injuring people. He started a riot by chucking an apple out a window then bought a swank plaid sports coat and fedora during the riot.

Cmmt.Lassard: The head of the academy. Does not seem to care about the new recruits one way or another. Was in the best scenes in the movie that I have already mentioned. Was also in a few others like explaining to Mahoney the virtues of quitting.

What am I thinking I got this far without mentioning the Blue Oyster bar. The gay bar Copeland and Blanks were tricked into visiting. The bar is inhabited by a gang called the Archies, who force them to dance for hours. Copeland develops Stockholm syndrome.



Its a running joke in all the movies and gets funnier each time. In fact the movies are just filler between Blue oyster Bar jokes.


Okay this thing has went way too long. Every Police Academy movie has the final act with the real crime. The first one is still the best with Fackler starting a riot b chunking an apple at a gang member.

Cmmt Lassard sends the cadets to the actual riot zone. Copeland and Blank make things worse by giving up their revolvers to some psycho. I don't think he even had a name but he looked like a scary guy. Meanwhile Copeland and Blanks hide in a familar place.




The movie has one of my favorite endings with a call back to a earlier joke.

Man I went way too long here. In conclusion I really do love this movie. Its not for everybody, but what is?

I have to go now. i'll just go in this door without reading the sign above it.