Hugh Wilson’s 1984 classic comedy turns 40 this year! Sophie McVinnie reflects on the belly laughs it has given us . . .
WORDS: SOPHIE MCVINNIE
40 YEARS OF 40 YEARS OF 40 YEARS
When an American police force finds itself scarily short of police officers, it opens its ranks to all applications from the public.
This results in the most chaotic, hilarious group of cops they’d ever seen. This is the plot of 1984’s Police Academy – which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year!
Hugh Wilson’s directorial debut became an instant classic, and the film is still a familiar favourite for many who are after a cheeky comedy on a Saturday night. Join us as we look back at the belly laughs it gave us!
The story revolves around mellow Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) who joins the force as a repeat offender. He’s issued an ultimatum from Police Captain Reed – either enrol in police academy and give himself a fresh start or go to prison.
Desperate to escape incarceration, Mahoney chooses the first option, although the decision is pushed by the fact Captain Reed was also once friends with his policeman father.
Mahoney, along with Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall) and dynamic Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow) become the force’s new recruits and struggle to keep up with its perilously high expectations.
Casting Secrets
Did you know that Steve Guttenberg’s real-life father was a policeman at the New York Police Department?
He wore his dad’s NYPD top to his Police Academy audition in the hopes of making a good impression. Bruce Willis also auditioned for
the part of Mahoney, although his big break would come the year after in 1985’s TV
series Moonlighting. But perhaps one of the most interesting castings was Michael
Winslow, who played human beatboxer Larvell Jones. It took a special kind of charisma
to create w the character of
Larvell, which director Wilson found in Winslow when he was opening a gig for pianist
Count Basie with a comedy sketch.
Wilson saw how electric his presence was – he could create almost any sound with his mouth and was undeniably hilarious – and hired him for the role practically on the spot.
The Plot Thickens
Mahoney is not impres
