Kindergarten Cop
Arnold Schwarzenegger sheds his action image in Ivan Reitman's police comedy Kindergarten Cop, where he plays an undercover cop teaching a class of hyperactive six-year-olds. As the film begins, John Kimble (Schwarzenegger) and his partner Phoebe O'Hara (Pamela Reed) are in pursuit of notorious drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson) and his scabrous mother Eleanor (Carroll Baker). John learns Cullen is searching for his ex-wife and his little boy, and Kimble plans to nail them when they find the former wife, who is believed to have $3 million of Cullen's drug profits. John and Phoebe follow the trail to Astoria, Oregon, where they believe Cullen's son is attending kindergarten. Although the child and his mother have changed names, John hopes they can pick up some clues. By coincidence, Phoebe used to be a schoolteacher and the school board permits her teach the kindergarten class, but Phoebe gets food poisoning and John is forced to teach the six-year-old whippersnappers himself. Along with lighthearted gags with the kids and the pursuit of the drug dealers, John has time for a little romance when he falls in love with one of the teachers (Penelope Ann Miller), who ends up surprising him with more than love. more..
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt, Richard Tyson
The Great Stone Man never looks more alien than when he smiles, but the expression starts to become him, and as he grows more human through his contact with the kids, Schwarzenegger begins to exude actual warmth.
Kindergarten Cop was directed by Ivan Reitman, whose best work shows an ability to mix the absurd with the dramatic, so we're laughing as the suspense reaches its peak.
The surprise is that Kindergarten Cop is delightful and entertaining, a cop movie with suspense, no blood and a lot of genuine warmth. The script is intelligent and plays to the unique strengths of Schwarzenegger as a star.
Kindergarten Cop finds Arnold up to his old tricks, which will be exactly what his fans will want to know. But it's tough on kids and may make more than a few feel uncomfortable.
Kindergarten Cop never feels mercenary in the manner of, say, "Look Who's Talking Too" or "Three Men and a Little Lady." It is, instead, an extremely amiable, good-hearted film, unashamed of its desire to please and quite entertaining for it.
Randy Edelman
BMI Film & TV Awards (1992)
Favorite Movie Actor
Kids' Choice Awards (1991)
Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Young Artist Awards (1991)
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