Police Academy 6: City Under Seige

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The police must investigate a series of robberies along a strip of land in the city. The Mayor (Kenneth Mars) assigns Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey) and Lt. Proctor (Lance Kinsey) to the case, but while on stakeout the Wilson gang manages to slip through their fingers. The Mayor wants Harris and Proctor to work with Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) on apprehending the gang. Lassard assembles a seven-man team consisting of Hightower (Bubba Smith), Tackleberry (David Graf), Jones (Michael Winslow), Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Fackler (Bruce Mahler), and Lassard’s nephew, Nick (Matt McCoy). After distributing flyers as to the information of the Wilson gang and getting nowhere, Nick stumbles upon a paper heading of an antique diamond heading to a museum, and gets an idea to use it as bait: however the robbers nab the diamond anyway by cutting a hole in the truck and escaping through the sewer system. McCoy then decides to go undercover to get information regarding a possible hideout, but Harris decides to go undercover to get a confession. It turns out that Harris goes undercover as a window washer at a tall building, for which he has a fear of height, and gets a confession of himself on tape after Proctor accidentally knocks him over the balcony. The robberies are committed by a group of three dimwitted criminals who do not seem to be able to do this on their own, and it is revealed they are being guided by a literally shadow figure known as the “Mastermind”, who speaks to the three behind a wall of glass and uses a voice distortion device. He devises a plan to get the cops out of the way. Commandant Lassard and his men are later suspended after drugs are planted in Lassard’s locker, pending an investigation. The gang decides to clear his name by nabbing the gang and the ringleader. Accessing data files from a computer, Nick deduces that the robberies are occurring along a bus route, thus intentionally lower property values in that part of the city. They also learn that someone must be ‘leaking’ information to the bad guys, which is why they are always one step ahead of the Police Academy. The Police Academy force finds and does battle with the Wilson gang, while Nick chases the leader. A pursuit follows, which leads to Commissioner Hearst’s (George Robertson) office. It is revealed that the Mayor is the “Mastermind” and that Captain Harris has been unwittingly leaking information during his daily meetings with the Mayor. Hearst apologizes and reinstates the force, and a plaque is given to honor the officers’ bravery the next day. As the movie closes, Harris is sitting in a chair when a string tying the balloon float is cut, lifting his chair and floating him up into the air as he shouts Proctor’s name.

REVIEW:

Well, here we are on the 6th entry into the Police Academy franchise. I wish I could say that they’ve gotten progressively better, but that just isn’t the case. If anything, they’ve gotten worse.

I’m not going to even waste time on writing a lengthy review of this one, because, for the most part the plot is the same. The only difference is that there is no academy to be seen in this film, and the primary villain is an evil mastermind who isn’t seen (if you were a fan of Saturday morning cartoons in the 80s, you may recognize his voice).

Everything else is the same. The film opens with Harris and Proctor doing something make Lassard look bad, but it backfires. We meet the criminals. Then we find out what the major plot point of the film is. Then we get some hijinks from the officers, mostly directed towards Harris. Of course, we have to have a scene with Tacklberry and his triggerhappiness, Jones and his sounds, Hightower being intimidating, Hooks being the shy little violet she is, Fackler being the complete klutz he is, and of course one (2 in this one actually) where Callahan is making men faun all over her. Finally, we spend the last 30 minutes or so chasing after the villains, only to conclude with some sort of awards ceremony that is culminated with more hijinks directed at Harris.

So, as you see, the formula hasn’t changed. I’m not really one to mess with something if it works, but there comes a point when you need to change something.

This may actually be the strongest plot of the series, but that plus is negated by all the above mentioned repetition.

Needless to say, this is not may favorite entry into the franchise. Having said that, I think it was stronger than its predecessor. There just is too much recycled material. You know what they say, “You can’t beat a dead horse”. Well, they’re definitely beating the hell out of this horse. I’m tempted to not even bother with the last entry in the franchise and just say stop after #3, because that’s about where they jumped the shark, but then my OCD would get the better of me. That’s neither here not there, just know that this is not a horrible film, but everything has been done before, and better, in previous entires. The villains are the high point, especially Mastermind, so if you musty see it, there’s the selling point.

2 out of 5 stars

The Adventures of the American Rabbit

PLOT:

The story begins just after the birth of Robert Rabbit. As his parents and friends welcome him into the world, a mysterious old rabbit whose walking is assisted by a cane greets young Rob and disappears. Neither parent knew who he was, each assuming that he was from the opposite side of the family. Rob grows up as a normal child, learning to play the piano. One day his parents become endangered by a falling boulder. Rob sprints towards them and changes into a star and striped spangled superhero on golden rollerskates. The old man on his cane reappears and tells Rob that he is the American Rabbit; capable of changing into superhero form when he sprints and capable of being changed back to normal when someone, or he himself, says his name.

As Rob moves to the big city he decides to keep his secret identity hidden. He finds a job as a piano player in the Panda Monium nightclub (run by a panda named Teddy and female rabbit Bunny O’ Hare) that is harassed by a gang of jackals and their mafia style protection racket. Bunny O’ Hare and Teddy organize a march & rally the next day. The Jackals ruin the march the next day, but are thwarted by the American Rabbit. Teddy then announces at the rally his plans to rebuild the Panda Monium and announces he will do a cross-country tour with the White Bros. in order to raise money.

Walt gets mad and comes up with a plan with the jackal gang to kidnap a gorilla named Ping Pong, forcing him to destroy the American Rabbit. The motorcycle gang kidnaps Ping Pong, but is rescued by the American Rabbit. at their Grand Canyon hideout “The Trap Door” (disguised as a club). Rob and the gang decide to go to New Orleans to play at “The Hog and Frog”, but find that it has been burnt down. O’Hare sees a sign advertised for a band to play at the Paradise club. They end up with the club, until Rob realizes that the manager is part of the Jackal gang.

Teddy and his crew board a boat, where they are trapped inside while Voltur and has crew engulf the boat in flames. Rob becomes the American Rabbit and manages to get everybody off before the boat explodes. Bunny O’Hare stars to worry about Rob, but the American Rabbit assures her that he’s fine. He will do a search for Rob and learn more about the mysterious fire. He overhears a plan for Walt and the Jackals to head to New York, where their master plan is afoot. The American Rabbit head back into the water, where he transforms back into Rob and swims to shore. He suggests to Teddy that they should go to New York. Worried they do not have instruments, Teddy tells them that he’s got connections (they turn out to be penguins)

Walt and his group, meanwhile, the jackals decide to take over a moose run chocolate factory and in turn cut off the chocolate supply to the city, by kidnapping a moose and his son, Junior. Walt reveals their plan to control the world through their chocolate supply, and they’re “renting” the Statue of Liberty as bait. The American Rabbit interferes with their plan, and clobbers Walt. Walt’s clothes are the only thing that remain; it is revealed that “Walt” is actually the buzzard. He uses the American Rabbit to do his bidding after he threatens to blow up the Statue of Liberty with his doomsday switch.

Some time passes and the Buzzard’s laws are enacted upon the city, and Rob leaves his friends to take a taxi ride home. However, the city turns on the Jackals, which makes the Buzzard angry at them and calls Rodney (the Jackal’s leader) a traitor for siding with the people. Humiliated and defeated, Rob tells the driver that he’s a failure, and the taxi driver turns out to be the elderly rabbit from the beginning of the film, who advises Rob that he can’t win em all, but he can make “a power play of his own”. Rob notices an ad for Niagara Falls, which brings him back to action. He cuts the power supply, causing the doomsday switch to be deactivated. The Buzzard faces the American Rabbit once and for all, but the Rabbit chases the Buzzard into a blizzard. The Buzzard makes one last attempt to kill the Rabbit by lunging at him, but plunges to his death.

The American Rabbit returns as Rob to rescue his friends, and gets a kiss from Bunny O’ Hare

REVIEW:

I’ve already had more than a few people ask me why I love this film so much. So, I got a whole bunch of them over tonight and watched this great non-Disney animated flick from my childhood. If I’m not mistaken, this is one of the first films I saw in theaters, and was probably there first cartoon movie I saw that wasn’t Disney (along with All Dogs Go to Heaven and/or The Land Before Time).

I have to start by saying this film already has a negative mark for trying to blatantly rip off the Superman theme. It is one thing to quote such great music, but it is quite another to try to make your stuff sound the exact same. Just a minor issue I have with this flick.

So, what is it that makes The Adventures of the American Rabbit such an endearing tale to me? Well, I think it is the great story. Sure, it is the basic superhero plot we all have engrained in our heads by now. You know, small town boy grows up, gets super powers, heads to big city, and all of a sudden foils a super villain in his first outing. Sure, that’s been overdone, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

The voice casting is full of all-star voices from the 80s. Rob Rabbit’s voice is provided by Barry Gordon, best known as Donatello from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Also, there is Lorenzo Music, the longtime voice of Garfield. Also in the cast is Kenneth Mars, an accomplished actor as well as voice. Animation fans are sure to recognize his pipes, but his biggest role may very well be as King Triton from The Little Mermaid.

The villain that holds this film together is a bit og a mystery. Vultor is the leader of a pack of jackals (who look more like foxes), and holds a vulture on a perch. After an encounter with the American Rabbit, it is revealed that the buzzard is actually the boss and the “man” was just some clothes. One of the best things about this film was this little deception.

The animation of this flick is typical 80s, but I didn’t care for how many of the non-rabbit characters such as Teddy and Ping Pong, have huge heads. It was like they ran into some kind of radiation and get enlarged craniums.

THe nostalgia factor makes this a better film than it really is, at least for me. Sure, there are plot holes galore here and you can drive a tank through most of them, but wasn’t that what was so great about the 80s? You didn’t need to know every detail about everything, but rather just enjoyed what you watched without trying to decipher and analyze everything about it. I recommend this to everyone, but to fully enjoy The Adventures of the American Rabbit, one has to lose themself and just enjoy the ride.

4 out of 5 stars

Young Frankenstein

PLOT:

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is a respected lecturer at an American medical school and is more or less happily (though blandly) engaged to the tightly wound Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). Frederick becomes exasperated when anyone brings up the subject of his grandfather, the famous mad scientist, to the point of insisting that his name is pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”.

A solicitor informs Frederick that he has inherited his family’s estate. Traveling to said estate in Transylvania, Frankenstein meets his comely new lab assistant Inga (Teri Garr), along with the household servants Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman) and Igor (Marty Feldman) (who, after hearing Frederick claim his name is pronounced “Fronkensteen” counter-claims that his is pronounced “Eye-gor.”)

Inga assists Frederick in discovering the secret entrance to his grandfather’s laboratory. Upon reading his grandfather’s private journals the doctor is inspired to resume his grandfather’s experiments in re-animating the dead. He and Igor successfully exhume and spirit away the enormous corpse of a recently executed criminal, but Igor’s attempt to steal the brain of a revered scientist from the local “brain depository” goes awry, and he takes one labeled, “Do Not Use This Brain! Abnormal” instead.

The doctor and reassembled monster (Peter Boyle) are elevated on a platform to the roof of the laboratory during a lightning storm. The experimenters are first disappointed when the electrically charged creature fails to come to life, but the reassembled monster eventually revives. The doctor assists the monster in walking but, frightened by Igor lighting a match, it attacks Frederick and must be sedated. Upon being asked by the doctor whose brain was obtained, Igor confesses that he supplied “Abby Normal’s” brain and becomes the subject of a strangulation attempt himself.

Meanwhile, the local townspeople are uneasy at the possibility of Frederick continuing his grandfather’s work. Most concerned is Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars), who sports an eyepatch, a jointed and extremely creaky wooden arm, and an accent so thick even his own countrymen cannot understand him. Kemp visits the doctor and subsequently demands assurance that he will not create another monster. Upon returning to the lab, Frederick discovers that Frau Blücher is setting the creature free. After she reveals the monster’s love of music, and her own romantic relationship with Frederick’s grandfather, the creature is enraged by sparks from a thrown switch, and escapes from the Frankenstein castle.

While roaming the countryside, the Monster has frustrating encounters with a young girl and a blind hermit; these scenes directly parody ones from the original Frankenstein movies. Frederick recaptures the monster, wins him over with flattery, and finally fully acknowledges his heritage. After a period of training, he offers some illustrious guests the sight of “The Creature” following simple commands. The demonstration continues with Frederick and the Monster launching into the musical number “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, complete with top hats and tails, which ends disastrously when a stage light explodes and frightens the monster. He becomes enraged and charges into the audience where he is captured and chained by police.

After being tormented by a sadistic jailer, the Monster escapes again, then kidnaps and ravishes the not-unwilling Elizabeth when she arrives unexpectedly for a visit. Elizabeth falls in love with the creature due to his inhuman stamina and his enormous penis (referred to as Schwanstuker or Schwanzstück—a malapropism from German Schwanz, “tail”, and Stück, “piece”).

The townspeople, led by Inspector Kemp, hunt for the Monster. Desperate to get the creature back and correct his mistakes, Frederick plays music and lures the Monster back to the castle. Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the laboratory, Dr. Frankenstein transfers some of his stabilizing intellect to the creature who, as a result, is able to reason with and placate the mob. The film ends happily, with Elizabeth married to the now erudite and sophisticated Monster, while Inga joyfully learns what her new husband Frederick got in return from the Monster during the transfer procedure (the Monster’s Schwanzstück).

REVIEW:

Mel Brooks’ film are the American equivalent to the Monty Python flicks. Hilarious spoofs and satire on society that never take themselves seriously, and yet they are some of the best films ever made.

Gene Wilder is a comic genius. Teaming up with Mel Brooks to make this film all but guaranteed this would be a hit. Wilder is eccentric, wild, and hilarious as Dr. Frankenstein…er…Fronkenstein.

Marty Feldman and Teri Garr are very capable supporting actors. Feldman uses his unique look to play the perfect Igor, as well as his comic background. Garr uses her God-given beauty to the fullest extent as the sexy lab assistant Inga.

Peter Boyle makes a great monster, at least for this film. Not saying that he was bad, but his portrayal fits more in the spoof version than in a more serious interpretation. Still, Boyle is an intimidating presence.

Kenneth Mars may have given the best performance of the film. His Inspector Kemp was quite eccentric and took a very capable actor trained in physical comedy to pull it off.

Mel Brooks fought to not have this in black and white, but in hindsight, I wonder if he would change his min about fighting that fight. Since this is a spoof on those old horror films of yesteryear, putting it in black and white just makes sense. I don’t think this would have worked as well in color, at least from a visual standpoint.

When I first looked at this film, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Of course, that was at a time before I gained an appreciation for classic cinema. Now that I can appreciate it for what its worth, this is quite the enjoyable film, especially if you’re a fan of classic horror films like I am. All in all, though, this is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but then again, when has Mel Brooks ever made a bad film?

4 out of 5 stars