Police Academy 5 : Débarquement à Miami Beach

The first three police academies were very good silly comedy, they had some great moments were great underdog stories and made you laugh quite a bit, at least me, but by the previous one it just ran out of steam, there was nothing left in the whole Police Academy genre. This one finds a bunch more character combined with out old friends to go to Miami Beach for a convention. Was the worst of the original six. I would not recommend seeing it, although the next one wasn't all that bad.

Steve Guttenberg being out of the series definitely made a difference and a lot of the gimmicks that made the original work were not present in this one. Part of the problem is that it went from being raucous adult comedy to a silly kid's comedy. None of the dirty humor is there anymore and that is sad. Stick with the first three those are very funny.

For what it's worth, it's the best of the films without Steve Guttenberg. That's faint praise, but the series was running mostly on his charm and likeability.

All non-Guttenberg factors being equal, in a lot of ways it's a (slight) improvement over the fourth film. The overall plot isn't exceptionally outlandish; befuddled jewel thieves is a more realistic setup than a citizens' police force or the mayor of the city orchestrating a crime wave. The cast are all game, and George Gaynes is clearly having a ball.

I wouldn't actually spend a lot of money on the film, but if it's in TV some lazy Saturday, there are worst ways to kill a few hours.

I'm glad that they finally realised that a criminal to battle against is better than just the in house arguing with Harris and Proctor with a crime chucked in at the end, although you've got to feel sorry for Proctor. If only he'd made friends with Mahoney instead of Harris, he's a sweetheart really.

This film is definitely better than the last. It may be due to the fact that there are less characters this time. It may even be the best of the Police Academy's overall.

We get to see Lassard causing real chaos hear instead of just his two minutes at the beginning and the end as normal.

The boat chase was a bit too similar to the 3rd film and the air chase in number 4, but it works better here as it has more of a context.

I like Tackleberry being so child like and the chance to see more of everyone else's character, but despite the fact I used to fancy Matt McCoy as Nick, he seems slimey now for me.

I'm hoping for a similar format for the next two.

616.85/1000.

"Police Academy 5" is a pure mess of a film. This time our heroes travel to Miami to honor their commandant. However, they end up chasing three dim-witted jewel thieves who are just as annoying as the primary cast. A film that should be avoided at all costs. Turkey (0 out of 5 stars).

"Police Academy V: Assignment: Miami Beach" continues the on-going "Police Academy" "comedies," if you wish. I call them trash.

The first had a few laughs, but was basically a rip-off of "Stripes" with Bill Murray. The second film was decent, and had just enough laughs to watch for. The third was one of those Sunday afternoon flicks. The rest are absolute, slobbering, grimy, putrid trash.

The plot involves Police Chief Lassard heading off to Miami Beach to accept an award. At the airport, he accidentedly switches suitcases with jewel thieves, who want their diamonds back...

This is the excuse for laughs not even half-baked. As always, the things one laughs at are those that the writers did not intend the audience to laugh at, like the end "action" sequence involving alligators, crocodiles, or whatever those fake puppets were.

I don't know how the "Police Academy" series ever got any more productions after the second or third film, but they did. Perhaps, in a sick, demented way, it's for the better. It ruined Steve Guttenberg's career, and gave all aspiring comedy writers something to "not do" when writing a comedy.

1/5 stars--

John Ulmer