Vice Academy

Vice Academy was the only one in the series I've ever seen and for good reason: IT'S AWFUL! A parody of the unfunny Police Academy movies, this features a bunch of students training to be in the vice squad. Through a pastiche of cheap sets, horrid acting, horrible wardrobe, and a lack of the one thing that could have saved it (plentiful nudity), this film crashes and burns. I guess the only good part that I saw when I wasn't pressing fast forward was the scene featuring Vice Academy and Soap Opera regular Tamara Clatterbuck's character of Tinsel, the first prostitute that the students tried to bust (their goal in the movie was to eliminate a prostitution ring to pass the course), and how they trick her to admit that she's a hooker; I especially laughed at how she went from sweet-natured to Carlin. Otherwise, stay away.

Maybe the most ridiculous movie I've ever been privy to. I admit, I have a weakness for movies with 'Academy' in the title; Combat Academy is a particular favourite. This, however, takes the proverbial cake. It's surreal: the acting(atrocious), the dialogue(and lack thereof), the plot(a porn movie) and cheap production values that would have Johnny LaRue turning in his grave. Basically it's 90 minutes of attractive ladies running around a city trying to arrest hookers, drug dealers and porn stars. Porn queen Ginger Lynn Allen's talent(as minute as they might be) are totally wasted. It's Police Academy minus Steve Guttenberg and a budget multiplied by poor actresses who'd do anything to take their clothes off to make money. My only hope is that no one made anything above scale for this flick... the actresses should have paid the producer to be in it. If you're looking for some excellent vapid entertainment, nice shots of bosom and some laughs, rent it. If you want anything else, I'd look elsewhere.

Two borderline mentally retarded vice girls and an idiot man-child partner arrest whores in this inanely stupid "comedy" from the supremely untalented Rick Sloane. The fact that Linnea Quigley is in it makes it a tad less sucky, but not less sucky enough for the film to be watchable.For some reason I wonder what Christian Barr who plays Traci Lords.. um, I mean 'Cherry Pop' is up to nowadays though.

My Grade: D

Dvd Extras: Director's commentary; Interviews; Ginger Lynn Allen Filmography; and theatrical Trailer

Eye Candy: Ginger Lynn Allen as Holly, Linnea Quigley as Didi, and Karen Russell as Shawnee all show breasts

My review was written in March 1989 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

It takes a quickie, direct-to-video pic like "Vice Academy" to make the latter day "Police Academy" series look good.

Former porn star Ginger Lynn Allen teams up with current softcore star Linnea Quigley as warring police cadets studying to join the L. A. vice squad. Pic limns their unfunny (nor for lack of trying) misadventures as prostitutes, porn stars, etc., to entrap unsuspecting sleazeballs.

The two blonde leads are nice to look at, while newcomer Karen Russell amply fills the tease genre gap left by her namesake Betsy Russell. Filmmaker Rick Sloane's most daring motif is spoofing another ex-porn starlet Traci Lords, but effort is generally puerile.

Well at least the girls are cuties. And....that's about it, as far as the positive things that can be said about "Vice Academy" are concerned. The story is almost offensively stupid (come on, academy trainees sent out on their own to bust real criminals?), and most of the jokes are labored and unfunny. The humor is below-"Police Adademy", hit-to-the-groin level. This gives the impression that the film was aimed at kids, but it's too raunchy for kids; at the same time it's not raunchy enough for adults - there is maybe 1 minute of nudity in total. It's a film without an audience. In one of her first non-porn roles, Ginger Lynn Allen does show some charm, and should have had more screen time. (*)