Today’s quick review: Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. As part of a new initiative dreamed up by Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes), Sgt. Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) and his fellow officers recruit ordinary civilians to help patrol their neighborhoods. But trouble strikes the program when Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey), an old rival of Mahoney’s, is put in charge of the recruits’ training and makes it his mission to ensure they fail.
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol is a police comedy with an ensemble cast. Citizens on Patrol continues in the same tradition as the previous Police Academy films, offering up a colorful cast, silly hijinks, and a low-stakes plot. However, with Citizens on Patrol, the series begins to hit diminishing returns. The heart and creativity of the original Police Academy are absent, leaving the movie to coast on repetitive jokes and a token plot.
Citizens on Patrol misses the mark with most of its humor. Many of the jokes are recycled from previous entries in the series, exploiting the same one-note characters as before. The new additions to the franchise are not very exciting either. None of the new recruits are memorable, and the handful of new jokes are consistently low-effort. The movie also makes no attempt to invest in its story, relying entirely on its thinly connected gags.
Still, Citizens on Patrol will hold some modest value for fans of the series. The cast is too large and unwieldy to use effectively, but the movie still makes time for Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), Debbie Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait), and many of the other offbeat characters the series has picked up over the years. Their performances can’t carry the movie on their own, but they do help out.
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol will only appeal to viewers who are firmly committed to the Police Academy formula. Those who enjoy the characters for their own sakes, don’t mind repetition, and don’t need much in the way of plot will find Citizens on Patrol to be a fun, quick comedy. Those hoping for fresh humor, a clever script, or meaningful character arcs should steer well clear. Most viewers would be better off skipping it.
For a cleaner take on the same formula, try the original Police Academy. For another ridiculous police comedy, try The Naked Gun. For a military comedy in a similar vein, try Stripes.
5.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for a good legacy cast who don’t have much to work with.