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Police Academy

Police Academy

Comedy · Crime · 1984

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

Movie details

Police Academy

“The new police recruits. Call them slobs. Call them jerks. Call them gross. Just don't call them when you're in trouble.”

1984 Comedy · Crime 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.7 / 10

148.1K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

58 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

41 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Police Academy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hugh Wilson

Written by

Hugh Wilson · Neal Israel · Pat Proft

Steve Guttenberg

Steve Guttenberg

Carey Mahoney

Kim Cattrall

Kim Cattrall

Karen Thompson

G.W. Bailey

G.W. Bailey

Lieutenant Harris

Bubba Smith

Bubba Smith

Moses Hightower

Donovan Scott

Donovan Scott

Leslie Barbara

George Gaynes

George Gaynes

Commandant Lassard

Andrew Rubin

Andrew Rubin

George Martin

Court is in session

Put Police Academy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Cool Ironist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.