Today’s quick review: Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment. With only a month to turn around his failing precint, Captain Pete Lassard (Howard Hesseman) takes on six new police recruits (Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Bruce Mahler, and Marion Ramsey) to clean up the neighborhood. Seeing his chance at a promotion, Lieutenant Mauser (Art Metrano), the watch commander, does everything in his power to make sure they fail.
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment is a police comedy about a group of oddball police officers. Police Academy 2 picks up shortly after the first film. The cadets have graduated the academy and are ready to tackle real police work. Most of the cast of the first film returns, but the new location gives the sequel the chance to experiment at the periphery. However, a weaker script keeps it from living up to its predecessor.
Police Academy 2 gets most of its humor from its offbeat characters. Led by affable prankster Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), the officers apply their dubious talents to rooting out a street gang led by the eccentric Zed (Bob Goldthwait). They are joined by Pete Lassard, their put-upon police captain, and Lieutenant Mauser, his treacherous right-hand man. The gags are quick and frequent, but many of them sail wide of the mark.
Police Academy 2 is a step down from the first film. The new additions to the cast are not as memorable or well-developed as the characters they replaced. The plot is less cohesive, a string of loosely connected gags that shucks what little drama the first film had. The jokes earn some laughs, thanks mainly to the antics of Carey Mahoney and Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), but it lacks the punch of a truly effective comedy.
Watch Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment when you’re in the mood for something light, fun, and relatively mindless. The movie never quite hits its stride, either comedically or as a story, but what’s there is enough to entertain. For a sillier flavor of police humor, check out the Naked Gun movies. For an underdog comedy in a similar vein, try Animal House, Stripes, or Major League.
5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for decent humor missing the liveliness of the original.