Alright, fellow tapeheads, let's rewind to 1987. You've finished your homework (or pretended to), the VCR is warmed up, and you're scanning the 'New Releases' wall at the local video store. Amongst the explosive action covers and neon-drenched sci-fi, there it is: a familiar blue uniform, a goofy grin, and that unmistakable font. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. You knew exactly what you were getting into, and sometimes, that was exactly what you needed.
### More Training, More Trouble
By the time the fourth installment rolled around, the Police Academy formula was as well-worn as your favorite rental copy. Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes, bless his daffy charm) hatches a new, typically harebrained scheme: the "Citizens On Patrol" (COP) program. The idea? Train ordinary folks to assist the police, much to the horror of the perpetually apoplectic Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey, stepping back in after sitting out 2 and 3, bringing his sneering foil Proctor, played by Lance Kinsey, with him). Naturally, our beloved batch of misfit grads – Mahoney, Hightower, Jones, Tackleberry, Hooks, Callahan – are tasked with whipping these volunteers into shape. And just as naturally, chaos ensues.
The plot, let's be honest, is thinner than the magnetic tape on a thrice-recorded VHS cassette. It’s essentially a framework to hang a series of recurring character bits and slapstick set pieces on. But did we care back then? Not really. We were there for the comfort food comedy, the reliable gags delivered by faces we'd come to know. Steve Guttenberg, as the ever-charming Mahoney, was still the anchor here, though this would mark his final appearance in the series – a fact that felt like the end of an era for many fans. Seeing him lead the charge one last time had a certain bittersweet quality, even amidst the silliness.
### Familiar Faces and Surprising Cameos
The joy of these later sequels often came from seeing the gang back together. Bubba Smith’s Hightower still projected quiet strength (and got some surprisingly gentle moments), Michael Winslow’s Jones continued to astound with his vocal acrobatics (remember how mind-blowing those realistic sound effects felt before digital audio editing became commonplace?), and David Graf’s Tackleberry remained gleefully trigger-happy. We even got Tim Kazurinsky’s Sweetchuck and Bobcat Goldthwait’s Zed returning, their odd-couple dynamic adding another layer of frantic energy.
But Citizens on Patrol holds a couple of extra retro fun facts up its sleeve for the eagle-eyed viewer. Keep an eye out for a pre-Basic Instinct Sharon Stone playing a reporter! It's one of those "Hey, isn't that...?" moments that makes rewatching these old flicks so much fun. Even more surprising for Gen X viewers might be spotting a very young David Spade in his film debut as one of the skateboarding miscreants Mahoney tries to recruit for the COP program. And speaking of skateboards, the legendary Tony Hawk actually performed some of the skating stunts – a little piece of 80s pop culture history hidden within the Police Academy universe!
### The Gags: Dated but Dedicated
Director Jim Drake, who mostly worked in television but also gave us the Cannonball Run semi-sequel Speed Zone! (1989), keeps things moving at a brisk pace, hitting the expected comedic beats. The humour is pure 80s sitcom-level slapstick – think improbable accidents, comical misunderstandings, and lots of people falling down or getting covered in goo. Does it all land today? Maybe not. Some jokes feel repetitive if you've seen the earlier films, and the sheer predictability is part of the package.
Yet, there's an earnestness to the physical comedy. Remember that extended sequence involving hot air balloons and biplanes? It’s utterly ridiculous, requiring a suspension of disbelief wider than the Grand Canyon, but it’s executed with a certain go-for-broke energy that relied on practical rigging and timing, not CGI. It feels tangible in a way modern, slicker comedies often don't. It’s clumsy, yes, but it’s real clumsiness, orchestrated for laughs. You can almost picture the crew setting up the gags, hoping they land just right.
Filmed largely in Toronto, Canada (a frequent stand-in for non-specific American cities in 80s productions trying to save a buck), the movie delivers exactly what it promised on the box: more Police Academy hijinks. It reportedly cost around $17 million and pulled in over $76 million worldwide – proof that while critics were rolling their eyes (it wasn’t exactly a darling on Siskel & Ebert), audiences were still happy to enlist for another tour of duty with these lovable goofballs.
### The Verdict
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol isn't going to win any awards for originality or sophisticated humour. It’s formulaic, silly, and undeniably a product of its time. But watching it again feels like slipping on a comfortable old sweatshirt. It delivers familiar characters doing familiar things, punctuated by some genuinely surprising pre-fame faces and that specific brand of 80s slapstick. It was Mahoney's last ride, and perhaps the last entry before the franchise really started showing its age.
Rating: 5/10 - The definition of "more of the same," which, back in the rental days, wasn't always a bad thing. It provides reliable, if predictable, laughs and serves as a decent farewell for Guttenberg's Mahoney, boosted slightly by some fun trivia cameos.
Final Thought: Like finding a dusty but playable tape at the bottom of a box, Citizens on Patrol offers uncomplicated, nostalgic comfort – a reminder of a time when movie franchises just kept churning, and we kept happily renting.