Police Academy (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD - Where's the others?
Review: It's everything I remember. I would add that the 2 pictures on the back cover of the cops standing in a group are not from this movie. I sure wish the others in this series were available on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: "Good Speach"
Review: My favorite part is when Lassard does that speach and the hooker does you know what to him. That was hilarious.

Rating:
Summary: First and only good movie in the series
Review: On March 4 of this year, the newly elected mayor announced that she was changing the hiring practices of the city's police force. No longer would height, weight, sex, education, or physical strength be used to keep new recruits out of the Metropolitan Police Academy. Hundreds of people who never dreamed of becoming police officers signed up immediately. Naturally, the police completely freaked. -opening prologue of Police Academy.

OK, so this is dated in terms of style and the chauvinism rampant in 80's comedies, but seeing it again for the first time in nearly twenty years brought back some nostalgic memories. Granted, it's not an all-time classic, but hey, at least it's not as raunchy as American Pie.

Diehards of the old school like academy chief and Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris work on a plan to make things tough for the new recruits, not by throwing them out but to make their training so miserable, they'll quit on their own accord. Harris handpicks a Mutt-and-Jeff pair (both with crewcuts, no less) named Copeland and Blankes to help him weed out the scumbuckets, dirtbags, or whatever unpleasant name he has for the other recruits. Yes, they'll learn about firearms, local laws, police procedure, and many many other things. Well, it's mainly the first and last that happen in this classic 80's comedy.

Then again, they were up against the likes of Carey Mahoney, the Monsignor Larvelle Jones, the suave lounge lizard George Martine, Leslie Barbara, Doug Fackler, and Tackleberry. Mahoney is the main character and he's at the Academy as part of a deal with his friend Captain Reed, of a choice between the academy or the lockup for another minor offense. And he can't quit as part of the deal-hence he tries to get himself kicked out by his antics. For the most part, the main victim is Lieutenant Harris. The funniest moment involves Harris, a borrowed motorcycle, a parked car, and Harris flying into the air towards the rear end of a horse. To which Mahoney says, "Someone call a veterinarian!" Basically, some of the plot involves Mahoney pulling a prank on Harris, and either being called to Harris's office or being forced to do punitive exercises supervised by Harris or his handpicked student squad leaders, Copeland and Blankes. However, Mahoney plays a real nasty and funny trick on those two involving the innocuously named Blue Oyster Bar. And as for Commandant Lassard, that involves a funny moment at a podium.

Larvelle Jones has to be my favourite character here. He has an uncanny gift for sound effects, and when he and Mahoney first meet at the police station waiting room, he demonstrates his ability by imitating a machine gun. Another one has him imitating the squishing sounds shoes make as the inspecting officer walks past the row of recruits on the academy lawn.

Mahoney's roommate, Tackleberry, is a gung-ho type who wouldn't be out of place in Vietnam. Call him a more comic version of Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket. He has guns that blow the heads off the firing range targets and his funniest moment involves the firearms drill, where he goes nuts. When he says, "It's time this cop met the public," watch out!

But there are others. Laverne Hooks, a short gentle black with a shy, timid voice, Doug Fackler, whose specialty is slapstick, mainly being clumsy at someone else's expense, Lesley Barbara, a chubby white guy and another timid soul, and Hightower, a quiet, towering black man who seems most likely to succeed, except for one thing that he needs help. And this is one of Kim Cattrall's early films. She plays Karen Thompson, Mahoney's love interest, at least when he's not asking her to bare her thighs.

Steve Guttenberg (Mahoney), Michael Winslow (Jones), and David Graf (Tackleberry) boost this comedy, as does G.W. Bailey (Harris). But the others are good too. This is the best of the seven movie series. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there.

Rating:
Summary: the worst movie ever made!
Review: One has to wonder why Police Academy is even on DVD. Why hasn't it been forgotten about and swept away with all of the other comedies which aren't funny? But then one also has to wonder why there were like 10 sequels made of this movie as well.I suppose if you're into low-brow comedies this film is pretty much one of the best examples of that genre of film. If you're not looking for a lot of physical jokes hinged around the concept of a police department without any physical requirements of its officers (he's way too fat to be a cop!) then you're probably looking in the wrong place.

Rating:
Summary: Thank God for the 80's
Review: One of the best movies from a time when people knew what comedy was! Film makers today could learn a lot from watching the complete stupidity displayed in these (Police Academy) movies. And now we have it on glorious DVD!

Rating:
Summary: A good comedy showing how dumb some police officers can be
Review: Steve Guttenberg stars in this 1984 comedy directed by Hugh Wilson and featuring Kim Catrall (TV's Sex and the City, Crossroads). Guttenberg plays a man, not caring about life and doing nothing. After he almost destroys a car he gets a choice: Go to jail or go to the police academy. If he quits, he goes to jail. However, if someone throws him out he will go back to his normal life. And as much pranks Guttenberg pulls, he still cant get himself out. Then he realizes that maybe being a police officer isn't the worst job in the world. This was the movie that started it and that would go on to have five sequels. Perhaps the first one of the series is the best one though it's the only one rated R. It's a very entertaining movie with a lot of laughs. My favorite characters were definetely Mahoney (Guttenberg), Hightower(Bubba Smith), and Barbara (don't know his name) who sadly didn't appear in the sequel, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.

Rating:
Summary: Steve Guttenberg is in training to be a cop.
Review: There was nothing at Blockbuster Video. All the new ones were gone. The low-budgets collect dust. Even Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004) was gone. So I mosied on over to comedy to find "The Four Seasons" (1981) with Carol Burnett, Alan Alda, Sandy Dennis, Rita Moreno. They never even heard of it. What I did find was all seven "Police Academy" movies and to make it more exciting, they were all on DVD.
Okay, I need to relieve some tension. I'll watch rookie cops be stupid. Besides, Steve Guttenberg and Marion Ramsey are funny and that guy from the M*A*S*H tv series is in it too.
The first film includes the cast of 11 rookies: Steve Guttenberg, Kim cattrall (Porky's {1981], Sex In The City tv series), Bubba Smith, Andrew Rubin, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Bruce Mahler ("Fridays" tv shows), Scott Thopson, Brant Van Hoffman, Marion Ramsey and Donovan Scott.
They all must get through the Police Academy and obey the orders of G.W. Bailey (M*A*S*H tv series) and Leslie Easterbrook (Laverne & Shirley tv series). To add to the comic relief, George Gaynes, Debralee Scott, Ted Ross (The Wiz), Gary Farmer (Powow Highway [1989]) and Georgina Spelvin (the age-over-40 adults know what other movies she has done).
Can these bubbleheads ever pass the Academy? They have made 7 films.
DVD includes a 30-minute featurette, "Behind Acadmey Doors: Secret Files Revealed"., theatrical trailer and audio commentary for this 20th Anniversary edition.
Runs: 1:46.
The next film in the series: Police Academy 2--Their First Assignment (1985).

Rating:
Summary: you can watch many, many many times....
Review: This is a classic film. Not very realistic but the film is about a young delinquent (Steve Guttenberg) who is forced into the police academy to better himself, but finds a bunch of people in the academy who would rather see him fail than succeed. This is the beginning of series of movies which creates classic characters such as Hightower, Hooks, Tackleberry and Captain Lasard. Got to have a since over humor to enjoy this film and Mahoney represents the kind of person many people would like to hang out with. This film is enjoyed best when watching with someone who has never seen the film and has a sense of humor.

Rating:
Summary: Tackleberry RULES
Review: This is a great movie. Tackleberry is hilarious. I own all the Police Academy movies on dvd, because I just bought the box set.

Rating:
Summary: Great Film
Review: This is a really hilarious film that will keep you laughing. Great performances by Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey, and of coarse, Michael Winslow. My favortites in this film are Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow) a person who can make the sound of everything he sees, Eugine Tackleberry (David Graf) a man who is totally obssesed with guns, and Dougles Fackler (Bruce Mahler) a man who causes accidents and riots and doesn't even know it. I'm glad they're finally bringing out a 20th anniversary edtion, but the best part of it is, all the Police Academy films will be on dvd. You can buy them seperat, or in a great box set that has all seven films in it. The whole series will be realesed on dvd April 6. This film will have a commentary, trailer and a docementary. The commentary will be by actors Steve Guttenberg, Micheal Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, G.W. Bailey, Director Hugh Wilson and producer Paul Maslansky. So mark your calender for April 6, because Police Academy is coming to dvd.
P.S. Just so you know, I'm sad to say, the actor who played Tackleberry, David Graf, passed away last year. So I doubt there will be a Police Academy 8.