Kindergarten Cop

Directed by Ivan Reitman, Kindergarten Cop follows grizzled police officer John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he’s forced to go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a vicious, violent criminal (Richard Tyson’s Cullen Crisp). Filmmaker Reitman, armed with Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod, and Timothy Harris’ screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced yet mostly enjoyable comedy that benefits from the stellar efforts of its cast, as Schwarzenegger’s predictably charming and compelling turn is matched by a solid roster of such periphery players as Penelope Ann Miller, Linda Hunt, and Pamela Reed – with, as well, Reitman eliciting solid, scene-stealing work from the various kids under Kimble’s purview. It’s equally clear, however, that Kindergarten Cop, saddled with a palpably overlong running time, suffers from a decidedly hit-and-miss midsection that’s rarely as consistently compelling as one might’ve anticipated (and hoped), and it doesn’t help, either, that the movie suffers from wildly vacillating shifts in tone that contribute heavily to the uneven atmosphere and are, to put it mildly, rather jarring – although, ultimately, such concerns are easy enough to overlook in the face of a picture that does, on the whole, live up to its irresistibly high-concept premise.

*** out of ****

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