The Police Academy concept always worked best when the action was set in the titular environment, ie when a new bunch of misfits are being trained. Which is ironic, because of the seven (with an eighth apparently on the way) films, only this and the original stick to the formula. While stagnation is never a good thing, a franchise like Police Academy should be encouraged at every turn to do what works best.
The title also sums up the entire plot, although a little effort also goes into the setup. Essentially, there have been two police academies in this town for a while now, and the city's administration has decided that it cannot afford to keep both open. The decision as to which will be closed at the end of the current graduating class is to be made on the basis of which class performs better in the eyes of an evaluation committee. The winner is never established in a manner that would put it beyond a shadow of doubt, at least to a completely cynical viewer, but the whole film is about the journey, not the result.
A major plot hole exists in the shape of the two types of recruit the academies display. The Mauser academy looks more like a front for the Aryan Union or the like, and the Lassard academy remains a haven for the usual mob of misfits, only this time without any stoolies among the recruits. Correct me if I am wrong, but if the mayor has decided that none of the usual discriminatory factors used to screen the intake of each police academy no longer apply, shouldn't that decision apply to both academies? Or indeed every academy that the city (or state) has?
That aside, this was the last film Art Metrano appeared in before an accident left him unable to walk. Like Street Fighter did for Raul Julia, this is the kind of memorial you wouldn't wish upon any actor's career, regardless of their output. Not that he is particularly noticed in this episode. While Harris isn't present to make him redundant, the overcrowding of the cast doesn't leave him with a lot of things to do. He is unmemorable enough that nobody really noticed his absence from future PA films, or films of any kind for that matter.
A more skilled actor such as George Gaynes, for example, is able to use the minimal screen time he gets in order to make his character memorable. As the near-senile commandant who is supposed to be the focus of sympathy, he makes his mark well. Why he's never been in anything more substantial in the past twenty years, I will never know. For the rest of the cast, hitting the one note they are capable of is perfectly sufficient, and considering the proliferation of so-called a-list stars who cannot even achieve that much these days, I think some cast members deserve more credit than they get.
This is truly Bobcat Goldthwait's film. As the latest recruit at the Lassard academy, he goes into a literal overdrive of screaming and nervous tics. It is an odd testament to the man's talent that he can literally make this work as a comedy act. What made Mahoney so loveable and funny in the first film, Zed exploits to greater heights. When Steve Guttenberg refused to come back for episode five, they should have offered Bobcat the sky to take his place. The results of them not doing so are now a matter of historical record.
I gave Police Academy 3 a one out of ten. On a purely intellectual level, it is less than zero, but in terms of pure fun, it scores a few points. Those who have to follow a series should be advised that this is the last of the PA films that this could be said of.
The title also sums up the entire plot, although a little effort also goes into the setup. Essentially, there have been two police academies in this town for a while now, and the city's administration has decided that it cannot afford to keep both open. The decision as to which will be closed at the end of the current graduating class is to be made on the basis of which class performs better in the eyes of an evaluation committee. The winner is never established in a manner that would put it beyond a shadow of doubt, at least to a completely cynical viewer, but the whole film is about the journey, not the result.
A major plot hole exists in the shape of the two types of recruit the academies display. The Mauser academy looks more like a front for the Aryan Union or the like, and the Lassard academy remains a haven for the usual mob of misfits, only this time without any stoolies among the recruits. Correct me if I am wrong, but if the mayor has decided that none of the usual discriminatory factors used to screen the intake of each police academy no longer apply, shouldn't that decision apply to both academies? Or indeed every academy that the city (or state) has?
That aside, this was the last film Art Metrano appeared in before an accident left him unable to walk. Like Street Fighter did for Raul Julia, this is the kind of memorial you wouldn't wish upon any actor's career, regardless of their output. Not that he is particularly noticed in this episode. While Harris isn't present to make him redundant, the overcrowding of the cast doesn't leave him with a lot of things to do. He is unmemorable enough that nobody really noticed his absence from future PA films, or films of any kind for that matter.
A more skilled actor such as George Gaynes, for example, is able to use the minimal screen time he gets in order to make his character memorable. As the near-senile commandant who is supposed to be the focus of sympathy, he makes his mark well. Why he's never been in anything more substantial in the past twenty years, I will never know. For the rest of the cast, hitting the one note they are capable of is perfectly sufficient, and considering the proliferation of so-called a-list stars who cannot even achieve that much these days, I think some cast members deserve more credit than they get.
This is truly Bobcat Goldthwait's film. As the latest recruit at the Lassard academy, he goes into a literal overdrive of screaming and nervous tics. It is an odd testament to the man's talent that he can literally make this work as a comedy act. What made Mahoney so loveable and funny in the first film, Zed exploits to greater heights. When Steve Guttenberg refused to come back for episode five, they should have offered Bobcat the sky to take his place. The results of them not doing so are now a matter of historical record.
I gave Police Academy 3 a one out of ten. On a purely intellectual level, it is less than zero, but in terms of pure fun, it scores a few points. Those who have to follow a series should be advised that this is the last of the PA films that this could be said of.