Police Academy were an almost constant feature growing up - the number of sequels watched, and in what order, was something of a badge pride in those days! For my part, my scorecard was completely out of synch - Parts 2 and 6 on VHS, the original on terrestrial, etc. Anyway, I have a bit of affection for Part 4 (for all its shortcomings) as the only chapter I ever saw in a cinema, one summer holiday in 1987, St Andrews, Fife. The story is daft, the acting variable (GW Bailey makes a welcome return, while George Gaynes aces it as usual), the jokes are hit and miss, and the series has quite clearly ran the course....but I'll always associate this one with warm summer evenings and pristine white sands. To be enjoyed as a bit of nonsensical and undemanding fun.

Actually, I found this one to be quite amusing, and the stunts at the end, well, they were pretty good as well, considering we do have Tackleberry jumping from a plane to land on top of a Balloon. Once again, some of the cast have been whittled down, though of course we still have Sweetchuck and Zed, who are now full fledged officers. Oh, and Sharon Stone also joins us as a reporter, and of course she gets paired off with Mahoney at the end (who else).

The story is that Lesard has this idea to recruit citizens to perform some of the duties that police officers perform, though not to the same extent. It is sort of falling halfway between Neighbourhood Watch, and the actual police force. Well, some people think that it is a great idea, while others are worried it is just a means of undermining the police force.

Lt Harris returns in this movie, and Lesard ends up in London for a conference, so Harris is left in charge. Of course it turns out that Harris is one that doesn't like the idea, so of course he is doing everything in his power to undermine it, while running it anyway. However, as it is also the case, our heroes from the first movie are here to provide a helping hand.

Yeah, this film actually turned out to be much funnier than the previous two, maybe because I hadn't really seen it. I think I originally tuned out after the third movie, though I do have to admit that this may be the reason. Yet, in many cases it once again seems to be a complete rerun of the first film, with a lot of similarities. Mind you, Blankes and Copeland are now gone, but we have that really annoying Proctor turning up, who happens to be the guy that runs around after Harris, thinking that he is the most wonderful person in the world.

Still, it is interesting to see how the characters have developed because once again they are so much not like the characters that we have seen in the first two films. In a way they have matured and become so much more competent. However, the jokes where Sweetchuck gets bashed around do get a little tiring after a while.

This has always been one of the most amusing Police Academy's for me, and I just don't understand why people don't enjoy it, I find it far faster in pace than the first two, and it's on a par with 3. Yes it's daft but that's the whole point! Never a dull moment and Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed just shines. Thoroughly recommended.