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Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach: Actually... kinda brilliant?

Okay, okay, hear me out before you all start throwing rotten tomatoes. Police Academy 5. I know. It's...not Citizen Kane. But I've been re-watching this garbage fire lately, and I'm starting to think it's intentionally subversive. Seriously. Think about it. The whole franchise is built on the premise that the police are incompetent clowns. And 'Assignment Miami Beach' just doubles down. It's like they're saying, 'Yeah, the people we're supposedly trusting to uphold law and order? They're utterly useless, and also kind of loveable in their idiocy.' Specifically, the whole Lassard-getting-kidnapped plotline? Pure genius. He's so oblivious, so utterly detached from reality, that he wanders right into the bad guys' lair. It's a perfect metaphor for institutional blindness! And the fact that the villains are these cheesy, inept jewel thieves just adds another layer of satire. Are they really supposed to be taken seriously or are these goofballs supposed to be a commentary of the state of criminals at that point in time? And everyone always rags on the acting, but that's exactly the point! All these characters are caricatures. No one is supposed to be believable. I mean, Hightower literally tosses bad guys over fences and through windows. It's performance art disguised as slapstick. I'm not saying it's good performance art necessarily, but it's...something. Makes you think. So, yeah, Police Academy 5 is dumb. But maybe it's brilliantly dumb? I'm putting it out there. Maybe I'm losing it. What do you guys think? Or am I just completely wrong?

danthecritic
about 2 months ago
4 comments
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