Police Academy

I had a surprisingly busy day today so here’s the meme I’ve been working on: The Five Best Police Academy films.

1) Police Academy 2 – Their First Assignment
Jerry Paris, the genius behind other social commentaries like Happy Days took the director’s seat for this one. There were mutterings from the studio that the title shouldn’t have been Police Academy 2 at all, given the radical departure from the previous film. Using 1980s America as a metaphor for 1960s optimism Harris created an uncomprising and biting satire of the American action in Vietnam – the climax being the “police action” against an enemy who can barely be understood but one who stands against America as embodied by the Police Academy. Steve Guttenberg’s tortured performance as Cary Mahoney reaches new heights when, out of the force, he is required to become what he has fought against and engage in subterfuge. This climaxes in an emotionally traumatic scene where he takes on the persona ‘Jughead’ to locate the enemy. It also includes a hilarious scene where two officers accidentally enter the Blue Oyster Club and are engaged in a dance.

2) Police Academy
Had it not been for the combination of righteous anger and human compassion that seared through Police Academy 2, Hugh Wilson’s big screen debut would be remembered along the Seventh Seal, Ben Hur and Metropolis as one of the turning points in cinema. At a time when Hollywood was creating increasingly safe movies Wilson was willing to strike out into new territory. The film is an exploration of what would become known as structuration theory. The film starts with several disparate individuals. Without losing their individuality Wilson shows how by actions designed to maximise their own status the cadets end up repoducing the very power structures they operate against. Police Academy has been described as one of the most depressing films of the twentieth century as the central message appears to be that the individual will be subsumed by society. Even Hightower expelled from the Academy ends up reinforcing the socio-political construction of “Law”. Yet Wilson has always maintained that his message was essentially positive, that just as we exist within structures, so also do the structure exist within us. It also includes a hilarious scene where two officers accidentally enter the Blue Oyster Club and are engaged in a dance.

3) Police Academy 4 – Citizens on Patrol
Jim Drake took the helm for Police Academy IV. He was already known for his deep reflections in the Marxist social drama Who’s the Boss? Rather than emulate the complex plots of Jerry Paris, Drake chose to abandon the concept of plot instead producing a mood piece. Drake’s hypothesis was that a film could be built around a short rap song. In a golden era for rap Drake eschewed the trailblazers of hip-hop instead building the film around a cheap and tawdry knock-off. Drake argued that this was the way to truly reflect modern America. It was a brave decision and he was dropped for the next film. It also includes a hilarious scene where two officers accidentally enter the Blue Oyster Club and are engaged in a dance.

4) Police Academy 3 – Back in Training
This was Jerry Paris’s second attempt at a Police Academy film. As the title makes explicit this was a conscious attempt to return to Hugh Wilson’s original vision. Rather like Police Academy 2, the filming was difficult which Paris insisting the actors attempt to return to a child-like state of innocence. This was arguably taken to it’s logical limit with several characters yearning for a return to the breast. Ultimately this is a less uplifting film than its predecessor. While Police Academy 2 is a celebration of the individual, Police Academy 3 portrays individuals as automatons within a larger social structure. The ending is particularly downbeat. Despite the great acts of individuals Paris makes clear it is the institution that survives, and that it survives largely unchanged. Not a film to watch with a suicidal friend even though it includes a hilarious scene where two officers accidentally enter the Blue Oyster Club and are engaged in a dance.

5) Police Academy VII – Mission to Moscow
I’ll admit I haven’t seen Police Academy VII, but I have seen Police Academy 5 and Police Academy 6. I couldn’t tell you what the plots were because of repressed traumatic memory syndrome, but Police Academy VII surely couldn’t be worse without doing something very bad to the fabric of time and space. It’s unique among the Police Academy films in having Roman numerals in the title and Christopher Lee in the cast and so it must be one of the five best. How bad could a film with Christopher Lee in it be?

I’m tagging Karen, because she showed an interest in Police Academy, Anousheh Ansari, Ms. Streisand, The Official Google Blog and Tony. I realise that last one might be a bit unrealistic, but I suspect Tony’s far more likely to answer “What are your five favourite Police Academy films and why?” than “Why did you lie to the British electorate about the war in Iraq?”

If you’re planning to do it then the sooner the better as it’ll get harder next year with the release of another Police Academy film. Steve Guttenberg seems to be returning to the role of Carey Mahoney, but there’s no confirmation that Kim Cattrall will reprise her role “Woman with thighs”.