The 1980s were a premier era for the theater-going experience. The decade of the modern blockbuster, like 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1985’s Back to the Future, 1989’s Batman, among many others, was also a period of massive success for Horror, but also Comedy.
A time when Comedies were one of the popular formats around, you had massive hits like 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, and 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, just to name a few. A time where people laughed more freely and Comedy was genuine, it was a perfect storm for the birth of a Comedy franchise everyone knows as Police Academy. The most expansive Comedy franchise of the 1980s, Police Academy began its dominant run in 1984 with the original film, which became a hit in theaters, ranking as the sixth-highest-grossing film that year. Paving the way for more films, 1985 saw the release of Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, which was again a hit, becoming the eleventh-highest-grossing film of that year.
On a roll, it quickly became a spring tradition to find a new Police Academy film in theaters, and like clockwork, on March 21, 1986, Police Academy 3: Back in Training arrived. The second film in a row directed by Jerry Paris (who worked as an associate director on All in the Family), much of the classic cast of Police Academy returned, including Steve Guttenberg as Sergenant Mahoney, Bubba Smith as Sergenant Hightower, David Graf as Sergeant Tackleberry, Michael Winslow as Sergenant Jones, Leslie Easterbrook as Lieutenant Callahan, Bruce Mahler as Saergenat Fackler, and George Gaynes as Colonel Lassard. All recognizable, beloved characters. Joining them was Bobcat Goldthwait, who appeared in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment as a street thug but is now turning over a new leaf as Cadet Zed. Furthermore, other new faces in the academy included Tim Kazurinsky, previously a bullied merchant in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, now as Cadet Sweetchuck.
A great recipe for humor, the only curious shift in the cast was that G.W. Bailey was not brought back as Captain Harris in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment or Police Academy 3: Back in Training. However, this was rectified later in the franchise when Bailey returned as Captain Harris to regain his legacy in the series. Another interesting change was that Police Academy 3: Back in Training would mark the first Police Academy film to receive a PG rating, setting a new trend for future films in hopes of making the series more universally family-friendly. A move some might question in terms of how the jokes could be told, in the end, the Comedy was still funny enough to get a laugh without being too graphic or vulgar.
Nonetheless, while Police Academy 3: Back in Training may have received poor critical reviews, it was still a massive draw, debuting at number one at the box office and earning the honor of being the seventeenth-highest-grossing film of 1986. This is not to mention it had strong competition in the Comedy department, with other popular titles like Back to School, the aforementioned Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Short Circuit (also starring Steve Guttenberg) also in theaters in 1986. Furthermore, Police Academy 3: Back in Training was in many ways a little engine that could, finding success on a relatively low budget of $12,000,000 for Warner Bros., which often spent substantially more on other productions.
A win-win for everyone, Police Academy would continue, and another film was released each of the next three years through the end of the 1980s, culminating in 1989’s Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. Wrapping up with a seventh film in 1994 (Police Academy: Mission to Moscow), forty years later, many still turn to Police Academy 3: Back in Training as one of the best of the seven. Benefiting from returning to the academy setting of the first film, this third chapter also integrates fan-favorite personalities, including fresh comedic pairings like Zed and Sweetchuck.
Altogether, Police Academy 3: Back in Training keeps you laughing, especially with the traditional franchise Blue Oyster Bar gag, and of course, when Commandant Mauser’s (played by Art Metrano) eyebrows are ripped off with tape as he stares into a mirror with surprise. Also excelling thanks to the leading, endearing persona of Mahoney, played perfectly by Steve Guttenberg, many would argue that, after his final appearance as the character in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, subsequent entries were not as inviting.
A film that had a long life after the box office, with home video rentals, a 2004 DVD release, and later Blu-ray releases, Police Academy 3: Back in Training remains a classic ‘80s Comedy everyone can enjoy 40 years later.
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