Esquadrão de Recrutas

The dreaded 'Police Academy' series was considered by many a snobbish movie buff to be the ultimate in low-brow, tasteless humor. Imagine how those film-snobs must feel seeing something like 'Recruits' - an even more tasteless take on the same premise.

I, for one, love it! Never had a problem with (most of) the 'Police Academy' movies, and this makes me laugh even harder because the humor is even more juvenile and gross. There's something about a movie that just doesn't even try to show a little restraint that tends to crack me up in a 'I can't believe they did this' kind of way. Another good example of this is 'Hamburger: The Motion Picture".

The jokes are brazenly funny, the acting isn't very good - even by a young Lolita Davidovich (who was still going by Lolita David at the time) but it works, there are generous amounts of gratuitous t&a, and the bad guy's right hand man is so over the top I can't stop laughing anytime he's on. He barks everything he says to the recruits and shouts one specific word for greater effect (e.g. "There will be no WOMEN in your ROOMS!!!"). It's hard to describe how funny it is in the movie, you just have to hear it.

Anyway, 'Recruits' is great - I first fell in love with it when I rented it back in 1986 (if I remember correctly, the store just got it in and I was the first one to rent it) and I now own my own VHS copy which I watch every couple of years and laugh all over again. We need a DVD!

Canada's answer to the successful low-brow comedy "Police Academy" is this particularly tactless outing "Recruits". While an obvious low-budget rip, it's still just as stupid, sleazy and infantile (maybe more so) meaning a lot of brainless fun. Can't have it any other way. These types of features aren't meant to be polished art, but instead no-nonsense escapism even if its trash at heart. All I can say there, at least it has heart!

Mayor Bagley is preparing for the Governor to pay a visit to his town with the hope that the agreed highway is approved. To make an impression he gets Police chief McGruder to hire a temporary traffic patrol unit from its local citizens. However McGruder see this as chance to set a plan in motion of screwing everything up, by sabotaging this request by signing up a group of misfits which will surely cause nothing but trouble and shine a bad light on Mayor Bagley on the big day. Why this… well McGruder wants Bagley's job.

It reads very similar to "Police Academy", but while the gags are familiar and fairly lame it's still deliriously charming. Director Rafal (Screwballs 1, 2 & 3) Zielinski (who I just watched his enjoyable comedy "State Park" two weeks back) keeps this fluff buoyantly brash and always on the move with chaotic situations tailored by endless topless nudity or sardonic dialogues. You can't have these type of films without a bouncy soundtrack, and it covers the bases with a rocking title song too. But it's the characters that stand-out, even though the performances are enthusiastically forced. Some recognizable faces stream through; like the delightful Lolita Davidovich, Colleen Passard and a convincing Mike MacDonald as the smarmy McGruder. Outside Tony Travis riot turn as Sergeant Stonewell with his uptight shtick, I found the minor characters of the ragtag group to be the most amusing; Mark Bluntman as Clint… Eastwood… yeah moments involving some sort of identity crisis were rib-tickling. Herb Field as the drunken cop, while subtle it seemed to work and Annie McAuley is transfixing as the lusty blonde nymph… the mayor's daughter. There are able lead turns from Doug Annear, John Canada Terrell, Stephen Osmond and Alan Deveau (who would be known for his roles in the two "Screwballs" films.

Ridiculously entertaining and raunchy goof-ball b-picture.

Does this film look like a Canadian Type film??? No, especially since it was done in Toronto back in '86 when most Canadian films all looked like CBC had it by the balls. This film has a lot of up coming actors ...like Lolita D. / Mike McDonald / .... It looks very American and if it were released in the year 2000, it would still hold up as being entertaining. Any ways...most of the best Police Academy films were done in Toronto.

another fan favourite franchise can't escape of cheap imitations made by other countries by using cliché plots and characters of varied stereotypes like an butch horny female lieutenant an scheming captain with an hapless staff sergeant along with the racial stereotype comedic black man and others including an romantic slacker an drunken buffoon an horny nerd an heavy metal airhead an comic relief that all these stereotypes has being done to death in the 80's no matter on what they are spoofing it gets rather tired this is an fine demonstration that Hollywood can't come up with anything new instead of these lazy cash grabs by low budget film companies but Jon Mykl Thor feels like filming an hour and an half rock video but I only give this an 8 out of 10

FRANKIE CROFT SMALES

This was clearly made to cash in on the Police Academy films which were popular at the time. It's about a bunch of dopes who are recruited to join the police force in a small town and the predictable comedic problems which ensue. The comedy is about as desperate as you can get and there is lots of footage of people on motorbikes. It makes you wonder if the producers were trying to make a biker film. Stick with the Police Academy films instead!