Kindergarten CopDetective John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a man accustomed to dealing with junkies and murderers, but is confronted by a crisis he may not be prepared to handle: teaching kindergarten. Kindergarten Cop is a comedy about the aforementioned police detective going undercover as a teacher to root out the wife of Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), a murderer and drug dealer. Her testimony against him is needed to put him away for good, but his only lead to find her is that her son attends a preschool in Astoria, Oregon. Originally assigned as a support role to his new partner, Detective Phoebe O'Hara (Pamela Reed)--who was to be the substitute teacher--an emergency shuffle forces John to take her place, and rediscover a sensitive side of himself he had long since buried.
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The humor of Kindergarten Cop comes from the central conceit that a cop would need to pose as a kindergarten teacher in the first place. The beginning of the film establishes John as a hard-bitten, intimidating cop, recalling Schwarzenegger's performance from The Terminator. With his grizzled complexion, sunglasses, and trench coat, John Kimble looks like the wrong guy to cross. His anti-social attitude and even reckless self-endangerment is evident when he storms a night club to compel a witness to single out Crisp in a lineup. John's life is miserable; even Crisp picks up on this, taunting him that he'd have nothing to live for if he didn't chase him. John has been divorced for years, and has lost touch with his thirteen year-old son--Crisp has become his sole obsession. Crisp and his equally corrupt mother, Eleanor (Carroll Baker), are monstrous people, but John's pursuit of them hasn't given his life any deeper meaning than to hurl himself into his work, shielding himself from the pain. Crisp's own obsessive desire to reclaim his son from his wife--who ostensibly ran off with three million dollars of his drug money--is ironic when compared to John's broken family. He convinces himself that he can rebuild his family by abducting his son, underscoring that he is the worst kind of father figure. Conversely, John becomes a role model for the kindergartners, earning their trust and affection over time. John's struggles to convince the school's apprehensive principal, Miss Schlowski (Linda Hunt), that he can do the job; his inexperience and unfamiliarity with children are already two strikes against him. His first day is a herculean effort that almost ends in tears--for John and the kids. John finds support in an attractive teacher named Joyce Palmieri (Penelope Ann Miller), who shows him the ropes, and whose son, Dominic (Christian and Joseph Cousins), is one of John's students. He ultimately turns to dramatic (yet effective) measures to keep the kids' attention, like introducing his pet ferret as a class mascot and using a police whistle to establish discipline. John awkwardly probes for clues as to whose mother might be Crisp's runaway spouse, including a game he calls "Who Is Your Daddy?". This leads to one of the funniest scenes in Kindergarten Cop, revealing how kids pick up on unexpected details from their parents, evidenced by their responses.
The quaint, seaside town of Astoria is the polar opposite of the the hard-edged and violent Los Angeles depicted in Kindergarten Cop--seemingly as far removed crime as possible. Even the musical score becomes more relaxed to match the overall mood of the suburban community when John and Phoebe begin their assignment. John tries to deduce who "Cullen, Jr." is by the appearance and behavior of some of the boys in his class and their mothers. One boy's mother, Jillian (Cathy Moriarty), looks like a prime candidate at first; but John shifts his attention toward another boy named Zach (Justin Page), whose withdrawn behavior leads John to believe that he is harboring a secret. Owing to his clandestine investigation, John becomes a competent teacher and a beloved member of the community--turning the heads of single mothers and earning the begrudging respect of Miss Schlowski. He also reawakens to his long repressed feelings of tenderness after he and Joyce begin a cautious courtship. John discovers that he begins to truly care for the children, intervening when their safety is threatened when less dedicated educators might turn a blind eye. He also learns an important lesson about control--authority doesn't have to come from the threat of punishment or shouting, but by reaching an understanding based on sympathy.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedy about a rough and surly cop forced into the unlikeliest of roles and rediscovering his sensitive side. Kindergarten Cop would best be described as a family film due to its humor and light-hearted tone, although it is bookended by scenes of violence and language that parents may want to be conscious of before sharing with their children.
The quaint, seaside town of Astoria is the polar opposite of the the hard-edged and violent Los Angeles depicted in Kindergarten Cop--seemingly as far removed crime as possible. Even the musical score becomes more relaxed to match the overall mood of the suburban community when John and Phoebe begin their assignment. John tries to deduce who "Cullen, Jr." is by the appearance and behavior of some of the boys in his class and their mothers. One boy's mother, Jillian (Cathy Moriarty), looks like a prime candidate at first; but John shifts his attention toward another boy named Zach (Justin Page), whose withdrawn behavior leads John to believe that he is harboring a secret. Owing to his clandestine investigation, John becomes a competent teacher and a beloved member of the community--turning the heads of single mothers and earning the begrudging respect of Miss Schlowski. He also reawakens to his long repressed feelings of tenderness after he and Joyce begin a cautious courtship. John discovers that he begins to truly care for the children, intervening when their safety is threatened when less dedicated educators might turn a blind eye. He also learns an important lesson about control--authority doesn't have to come from the threat of punishment or shouting, but by reaching an understanding based on sympathy.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedy about a rough and surly cop forced into the unlikeliest of roles and rediscovering his sensitive side. Kindergarten Cop would best be described as a family film due to its humor and light-hearted tone, although it is bookended by scenes of violence and language that parents may want to be conscious of before sharing with their children.