Police Academy (1984)

★ 6.7 1h 37m 2,964 votes IMDb
Sign in to rate this film
Police Academy

Where to Watch

Netflix Netflix Watch
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video Watch
Disney Plus Disney Plus Watch
Max Max Watch
Hulu Hulu Watch
Paramount Plus Paramount Plus Watch
Apple TV Plus Apple TV Plus Watch
Peacock Peacock Watch
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll Watch
Tubi TV Tubi TV Watch
Pluto TV Pluto TV Watch
Plex Plex Watch

Rent / Buy

Rent

Apple TV Apple TV Rent
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies Rent
Amazon Video Amazon Video Rent
YouTube YouTube Rent
Vudu Vudu Rent
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home Rent

Buy

Apple TV Apple TV Buy
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies Buy
Amazon Video Amazon Video Buy
YouTube YouTube Buy
Vudu Vudu Buy
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home Buy

Cast

Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg as Carey Mahoney Age 67 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including C...
Kim Cattrall
Kim Cattrall as Karen Thompson Age 69 · Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England, UK Kim Victoria Cattrall (born August 21, 1956) is a British-Canadian actress, renowned for her diverse acting career in film, stage, and television. She started her career early, signing a film deal wit...
G.W. Bailey
G.W. Bailey as Lieutenant Harris Age 81 · Port Arthur, Texas, USA ​George William Bailey was born on August 27, 1944, in Port Arthur, Texas. Bailey started college at Lamar University in Beaumont and eventually transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock; but he...
Bubba Smith
Bubba Smith as Moses Hightower Died 2011 · Beaumont, Texas, USA ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011) was an American actor and former athlete. He was a professional football player in the 1960s a...
Donovan Scott
Donovan Scott as Leslie Barbara Age 79 · Chico, California, USA ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Donovan Scott (born 29 September 1946) is an American character film actor best known for his role of cadet Leslie Barbara in the 1984 film Police Academy starr...
George Gaynes
George Gaynes as Commandant Lassard Died 2016 · Helsinki, Finland George Gaynes (May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Finnish-born American actor of stage, screen and television. He is best known for his role of Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy film...

Audience Reviews

Filipe Manuel Neto 7/10 Sep 20, 2022
**A comedy landmark.**

I have no doubt that this film inaugurates what was one of the comic franchises that most marked the 80s and 90s. I remember that, until the dawn of the new century, films from this franchise were a regular presence on TV channels, and they still make routine appearances on movie or comedy channels. Unlike many other film works from this era, I feel they are aging well and haven't fallen by the wayside.

The script helped a lot, because it was very well written, considering that it is a light film and does not lack great depth: after a municipal decision to open police training courses to all those who wanted to, regardless of physical, mental and psychological requirements, the Police Academy was swamped by the most inept aspirants. Now, there will be a declared effort to get them to give up, and one of them is prevented from doing so, no matter how much he wants to.

If I'm told that the film's script is quite simple and that it's not exactly good, I would surely agree. However, it served perfectly for the intended effect and held up well to the film and the successive jokes that were happening. Many of them are predictable, many are overly sexual, but many of the jokes work reasonably well. There is some female nudity here, but it's nothing that current cinema hasn't shown in much more abusive ways in other films. Still, parents be warned!

There are several actors of great quality here who do an excellent job. Despite being many years old, it is the great film in the career of Steve Guttenberg, who shone in the franchise in the role of the irreverent Mahoney. The actor made the best use of the opportunity and reaped the rewards of that commitment. G.W. Bailey also deserves a round of applause for an inspired, funny and beautifully executed work. Despite speaking very little, Bubba Smith also stands out, using his physical grandeur and serious air. The actor was excellent. Even more impressively, David Graf is really funny and steals attention whenever he appears. As with Graf, Marion Ramsey also had the culmination of her career in these films, and made the best of it with an extraordinarily good performance. Michael Winslow and George Gaynes also did an excellent job. Kim Catrall is beautiful, but she is very little used in the movie, as are other actors because the cast is just huge!

The film was made in an old psychiatric sanatorium and the buildings have a beautiful, somewhat institutional appearance, which lends credibility to the atmosphere of the academy. The cinematography is regular and doesn't bring us anything new or original, but it works well, and the soundtrack has one of the most recognizable main themes in comedy films. The film has a very good pace and is not tiring.
r96sk 6/10 Mar 23, 2025
<em>'Police Academy'</em> is proper lacklustre. I didn't find any of it amusing, even so I can usually see why a film may actually work for others - not here. Given I've heard of this franchise, I assume folk enjoy these so I am a tad surprised. To me, it's just all a rather limp effort.

The characters have one joke associated to them (e.g. tall man, quiet woman, wannabe war guy etc.) and it's just repeated numerous times throughout the movie; it doesn't get any funnier. How many times do they play the theme song, btw? It is catchy to be fair, but damn.

Michael Winslow is the only plus that I have for this. I wasn't aware of him until this very moment, those voice sounds are outrageously brilliant; even had me questioning if they were dubbed over sound effects. Awesome talent! Of the rest of the cast, Donovan Scott is the 'best' (?).

I found lead Steve Guttenberg to be more annoying than anything else, shame we never got Bruce Willis instead; he auditioned for the role, so I read. Elsewhere, Kim Cattrall is underused; interesting to see her <em>'Mannequin'</em> co-star G. W. Bailey in this though, he is OK.

Despite everything, in the end when the credits rolled around I didn't hold any annoyance or anything towards the flick. The feeling is more so how lame and low quality it comes across, I expected snappier comedy. Lastly, how are there 7 of these movies?! I'm in for a ride...

Similar Movies