Police Academy does Miami Vice
To be honest long before the "Police Academy" franchise got to "Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach" it had lost the fun and freshness which made the original movie entertaining. But rather than stopping with still a few loyal fans remaining 1988 saw the fifth instalment which rather than taking us back for more training at the academy took us on a crime caper in Miami. Now on one hand you think that maybe "Police Academy 5" will be something different with a crime caper and the fact that Steve Guttenberg chose not to return, but nope "Police Academy 5" is just more of the same tired old jokes wheeled out for another turn just in another location. And as had been the case of the previous "Police Academy" movies this was another slip down the slope to being utterly terrible.
As the latest bunch of recruits graduate from the police academy it comes to Commissioner Henry J. Hurst's (George R. Robertson) attention that Cmndt. Eric Lassard (George Gaynes) has reached compulsory retirement age and to honour all his hard work is to be honoured at a police convention in Miami. With his favourite recruits in tow along with Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey) and Proctor (Lance Kinsey) they all head off to Miami but along the way Lassard accidentally picks up the wrong bag and ends up with one containing stolen jewels. When the inept thieves discover what has happened they set about getting the jewels back even if it means kidnapping Lassard. And so once more Lassard's men spring into action along with his nephew Miami cop Sgt. Nick Lassard (Matt McCoy) to rescue him.
So as already mentioned "Police Academy 5" at least isn't just another return to the training ground with more misfit cadets and actually comes up with a storyline where all the favourites, with the exception of Mahoney, head off to Miami to honour Lassard at a Police convention. And the lead into this is Lassard having reached the compulsory retirement age and Captain Harris brown nosing in the hope of taking over is sort of fun. But to be honest that is about the only thing which is fun in "Police Academy 5" because along with this we have a dull storyline about a bunch of inept thieves trying to get a bag of jewels back which Lassard has accidentally picked up. It's stupid and in a way feels like the ending of any of the previous "Police Academy" movies where are officers end up coming good and foiling a crime, except this time it's dragged out to cover the entire movie.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh because by "Police Academy 5" you know what to expect and to hope for something more seems foolish but it is so tired and obvious. In fact it is so tired and obvious that all the repeat gags such as Harris coming of worse when he upsets one of are favourites or Michael Winslow yet again doing a Bruce Lee impression fail to even achieve a smile. The same can be said about the ineptness of Lassard which by now is cringe worthy although you have to love George Gaynes for giving it his all. And to be honest it is George Gaynes who ends up having the one scene which actually raises a smile and whilst the farting in the lift gag is obvious at least it causes a laugh.
Except for George Gaynes I can't say that anyone else really delivers and all those regulars such as Leslie Easterbrook as Lt. Debbie Callahan and Marion Ramsey as Sgt. Laverne Hooks do what they have done in previous movies. And ironically with Steve Guttenberg going and Matt McCoy introduced as the remarkably similar Sgt. Nick Lassard you would have thought that maybe it would have helped make things feel different. But no it still feels the same and whilst you know that if Guttenberg had returned as Mahoney it would have been more repeated jokes "Police Academy 5" feels wrong without him.
What this all boils down to is that "Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach" is another poor "Police Academy" sequel which continues the slide down to being terrible. There is little which is memorable about it and whilst the location is changed and we have an actual crime caper it is a case of the same tired old jokes being used again with little effect.
