Police Academy 2 - Now it's just getting started

Movie
German title	Police Academy 2 - Now it's just getting started
Original title	Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1985
length	83 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Jerry Paris
script	Neal Israel , Pat Proft, and others
production	John Goldwyn , Paul Maslansky
music	Robert Folk
camera	James Crabe
cut	Bob Wyman
occupation
see Police Academy characters Also: Howard Hesseman Captain Peter "Pete" Lassard Peter van Norden Vinnie Schtulman Julie Brown Chloe
chronology
←  Predecessor Police Academy - Dumber than the police allow Successor  → Police Academy 3 -… and nobody can stop them

Police Academy 2 is an American feature film from 1985. It continues the content of the first film in the series. The film opened in German cinemas on June 7, 1985.

action

Has his first appearance here in the film series: Bobcat Goldthwait , cast member of Zed (here in 2006)

Also from this film an integral part of the film series: Lance Kinsey

The 16th district has become the worst in the whole city. Crime has risen by more than 20 percent, and police officers are pelted with eggs on the street. The Zed gang , who terrorize the whole area , is primarily responsible for these crimes . The shopkeeper Sweetchuck even protected his shop with an electrified grille. The chief of the police station, Captain Peter "Pete" Lassard, is pressured by Commissioner Hurst to do something within 30 days - otherwise he will lose his post. The second highest officer in the station, Lieutenant Mauser , is out for Lassard's job as station chief. Hurst promises him the job if Lassard should fail.

Lassard would like to have a dozen new men, but the Commissioner will only allow him six. Lassard therefore asks his brother Eric , commander of the Police Academy, to get his best graduate. This is where the protagonists of the first film come into play. They are Eugene Tackleberry , Carey Mahoney , Moses Hightower , Douglas Fackler , Larvell Jones and Laverne Hooks . Mauser lets her feel that he doesn't care for her.

Most are assigned a partner: Jones' partner is an older police officer who seems quite resolute. Tackleberry is on patrol with Kathleen Kirkland . Fackler gets a typical middle-aged cop who eats donuts as a partner. The two do not notice even the most obvious occurrences. Mahoney's partner Vinnie Schtulman turns out to be a likeable guy with an unsanitary lifestyle. Hooks occupies the headquarters, Hightower goes on foot patrol alone.

When Sweetchuck's shop is robbed, Mahoney and Schtulman happen to come by and call for reinforcements. The thieves escape, however, and an accident leads to a shooting between the police units, which ends in the destruction of the business.

Tackleberry and Kirkland get closer and a first rendezvous takes place soon after. Visiting their parents is also successful, even if the Kirkland family behaves in a strange way - father and son fight each other almost all the time. Tackleberry and Kirkland get married at the end of the film.

The situation in the district continues to escalate. When Captain Lassard himself is ambushed, he declares war on the criminals. As a result, the police officers increasingly succeed in arrests, even if everyone has to be released again because of inadmissible arrest methods. During a conversation between Peter Lassard and his brother Eric, the idea of ​​holding a street festival comes up to attract the residents of the district.

The festival is initially a complete success. When Zed shows up with his gang, however, chaos and panic quickly break out. The mayor is also harassed, so that Peter Lassard has to vacate his post and Mauser becomes captain.

Mahoney insults Mauser and is suspended. Schtulman takes his side and has to go too. Together with Lassard you decide to start an undercover operation. Mahoney makes contact with Zed's people skillfully. As an alleged former member of a notorious gang, he is led to the hiding place of the gang. Due to a microphone with a recording device hidden under his jacket, however, Zed exposes him as a police officer. The eavesdropping Lassard calls for reinforcements, together with the others from the Police Academy, the gang is arrested, so that Lassard gets his post back.

properties

After the great success of the first Police Academy film, they wanted to quickly shoot another film to build on. The academy itself does not play a significant role, while the viewer experiences the further development of the graduates from the first film. This is a significant difference from the two subsequent films, which are more similar to the first film. The film therefore beats something out of line in the early Police Academy films.

For the first time there is a kind of villain in Zed, who is arrested and not killed in the end, in a way that is unusual for Hollywood. Zed is not fundamentally evil either, just "wild".

people

This film is of great importance for the further development of the series, especially for the following two films. Here are some characters that continue to play an important role:

• Zed and Sweetchuck: The two are still rivals here, but as an unequal couple they play a central role in the two following films.
• The Kirkland family with its four members Kathleen, Bud, Max and Mrs. Kirkland is also an integral part of the series up to the fourth film, even if only in supporting roles. Max appears briefly again in the sixth film.
• Mauser: Although he only appears in this and the third film, he embodies the central role of the opponent within the police.
• Proctor : As the idiot assistant to Mauser and Harris, he is an important figure in this and all subsequent films with the exception of the seventh film.

Apart from the characters appearing in several films , this film features:

• Captain Peter Lassard ( Howard Hesseman ): He is the younger brother of Eric Lassard and head of the police station in the 16th district.
• Vinnie Schtulman ( Peter van Norden ): Mahoney's partner may be personable, but has an extremely unhygienic lifestyle. His apartment is dirty and he also eats discarded chocolate bars or muesli that his cat has previously used as a toilet. He has a big dog.
• Officer Dooley ( Ed Herlihy ): He is Fackler's partner and an older cop who also embodies the cliché of the plump, friendly, donut-eating but otherwise idle cop.
• Officer Sistrunk ( Sandy Ward ): Senior cop and partner of Jones. He has a very resolute demeanor and the first thing he tells Jones is not to think or talk.
• Zed's gang: About 15 punks who hit the district with Zed. Gang members Mojo ( Christopher Jackson ) and Flaco ( Church Ortiz ) lead Mahoney to the gang's hideout. A few other members can also be seen.

Trivia

• Two children of the director Jerry Paris star in the film: his daughter Julie Paris plays a cashier and his son Andrew Paris appears as Bud Kirkland in this and two subsequent films.
• It is also noteworthy that this is the only film in the series in which Leslie Easterbrook, aka Debbie Callahan, does not appear. Although GW Bailey alias Thaddeus Harris also does not appear because he was making another film at the time with the director of the first film, Hugh Wilson , he was still present on one day of shooting and can be seen briefly in civilian clothes in the final scene.
• On the official poster for the film there is a blonde policewoman, who does not appear and bears little resemblance to Debbie Callahan . It's a joke by the producers.
• A monster truck can be seen at the end of the marriage scene. The monster truck provided is the BIGFOOT # 3.

criticism

One year after the first film, the film was still swimming on its wave of success, so that the grossing results of 55 million US dollars in the USA and 3.9 million moviegoers in Germany were very good - it was thus able to be among the ten best films of the Place year. In the reviews it is mostly seen as a little worse than its predecessor. In the user ratings of the IMDb , it still achieved 5.8 out of 10 possible points (as of December 30, 2019). The professional critics at Rotten Tomatoes rate the film with 29 percent (as of December 30, 2019). Both are among the better placements in the series - however, the third film at Rotten Tomatoes achieved a significantly better rating.

"A number revue of simple-minded gags in which the few good ideas are hopelessly lost."

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

• Police Academy 2 - Their First really took off in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Police Academy 2 - Now it's just getting started at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
• Police Academy 2 - Now it's just getting started at Metacritic (English)
• Police Academy 2 - Now things really get going in the online film database
• Police Academy 2 - Now things really get going in the German dubbing file

Individual evidence

1. ↑ box office results on boxofficemojo.com
2. ↑ Police Academy 2 - Their First really took off in the Internet Movie Database (English)
3. ↑ Police Academy 2 - Now it's just getting started at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
4. ↑ Police Academy 2 - Now things really get going in the lexicon of international films