Stop me if you have ever hard this saying before - they can’t make movies like that anymore. That pretty much sums up Police Academy in a single sentence without giving away any of the story. There are plenty of scenes in this movie that would never make it off the cutting room floor due to fear of offending someone. None of it is done with intent to hurt feelings or piss people off though, that is part of why it works so well even all these years later.
Police Academy follows the adventures of the latest group of misfits to enter the police training program. We get to meet many of the trainers along with the trainees - even some of their families make appearances to flesh out this group of rejects all around.
Michael Winslow definitely steals scenes that he is in, even when he is only a background character of those scenes. His oral control is astounding and makes for some incredibly funny moments. One scene has him imitating gaming sounds while playing an imaginary video game late at night. What makes this scene funny is Lieutenant Harris (resident jerk instructor) is patrolling the halls of the men’s dormitory. His reaction is priceless as Winslow continues to play the imaginary game unaware of his fan.
Then there is Hightower, a former florist, who is absolutely huge - in one scene, he flips a police cruiser over. He is soft spoken and easy going, follows orders, and plays an instrumental role in many scenes. Including one with slight racist underpinnings.
A movie like Police Academy is hard to review without ruining it. So, following my past process of not discussing anything beyond the half way point in any detail is in play here. If you have read my past reviews of movies then you know what to expect.
Early on we meet the various characters, Mahoney for instance is the star of the movie and is a laid back loner through and through. That is until he meets Cadet Thompson (played by Kim Cattrall) and is smitten of sorts. Thompson is entering the academy from a life of luxury because she wants excitement and to meet new people. Hightower is bored with being a florist and wants more out of life and then you have the meek characters such as Cadet Barbara (played by Donovan Scott) and Cadet Hooks (played by Marion Ramsey), and Cadet Fackler (played by Bruce Mahler).
It is in these meek characters that we are introduced to some of the funniest moments of Police Academy.
The movie is not perfect but it is quite funny. Definitely worthy of watching if you have never seen it. There are many sequels that are funny for their own reasons. With these types of franchises, if you liked the first, you probably will enjoy the sequels because they do not deviate from what worked very much.
If you have a Roku player then you can watch Police Academy (and several of the sequels) on the Roku Channel for free (ad supported).