Police Academy

Directed by Hugh Wilson, Police Academy follows several oddball recruits, including Steve Guttenberg’s Carey Mahoney, Kim Cattrall’s Karen Thompson, and David Graf’s Eugene Tackleberry, as they attempt to make their way through the rigorous training program to become a police officer. Filmmaker Wilson, armed with his and Neal Israel and Pat Proft’s screenplay, delivers a somewhat erratic yet mostly affable comedy that benefits from the charming, ingratiating efforts of its performers, as the various cast members effectively transform their respective characters into memorable and predominantly hilarious figures that carry the proceedings through its less-than-enthralling stretches – with Guttenberg’s top-tier and often absurdly magnetic turn matched by such first-class periphery players as Michael Winslow, Bubba Smith, and Marion Ramsey. (G. W. Bailey, however, walks away with the most-valuable-player title due to his exceedingly entertaining work as Mahoney’s increasingly exasperated nemesis.) And although the movie’s midsection is certainly a little on the hit-and-miss side, which isn’t surprising given its episodic sensibilities, Police Academy progresses into a satisfying climactic stretch that cements its place as a largely laugh-out-loud funny comedy that fares better than one might’ve initially anticipated.

*** out of ****