Today’s quick review: Police Academy 3: Back in Training. When the governor announces that one of the region’s two police academies will be shut down, Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) calls up his finest graduates (Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, and Marion Ramsey) to instruct a new class of recruits and save his academy. But Commandant Mauser (Art Metrano), the head of the other academy, plans sabotage.
Police Academy 3: Back in Training is a police comedy and the third entry in the Police Academy series. Police Academy 3 returns to the academy proper, this time with the original cadets in the roles of teachers. The movie follows the series’ usual recipe of an ensemble cast, character-based humor, and a light plot. However, weaker humor, repeated gags from the previous films, and a thin story make Police Academy 3 a marked step down.
Police Academy 3 suffers from an excess of short-form comedy. Nearly all of the gags are one-shots with little setup and no follow-through. What’s more, the movie has a habit of recycling jokes from the first two Police Academies with only minor changes. The result is stilted, predictable comedy that has a hard time building up any momentum. The jokes are charming enough, but precious few of them are truly funny.
In spite of its weaknesses, Police Academy 3 does have a few things going for it. The movie shows plenty of love for the series’ supporting cast. Most of the characters from the first two movies return in some capacity, although the enormous cast stretches the film’s limited screen time even farther. The tone is reliably tipper, perennial favorites like Michael Winslow are still entertaining, and the finale is one of the movie’s better sequences.
Try out Police Academy 3: Back in Training when you’re in the mood for something breezy and mildly entertaining. Police Academy 3 lacks the quality of humor needed to be a truly successful comedy, but it offers modest value for fans of the series. Skip it if you’re looking to be impressed. For other comedies in a similar vein, check out The Naked Gun, Hot Shots!, Stripes, or the original Police Academy.
5.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for somewhat weaker humor than the previous films.