Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, and G.W. Bailey. The film centers on a motley crew of police recruits who attend the Police Academy in hopes of becoming police officers.
The main character, Carey Mahoney (played by Guttenberg), is a troublemaker who enlists in the Police Academy as an alternative to jail time. Along with other recruits such as the physically formidable Hightower (Bubba Smith), the clueless Tackleberry (David Graf), and the high-strung Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Mahoney must navigate the rigorous training conducted by the stern Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and the antagonistic Lieutenant Harris (Bailey).
Despite their initial difficulties and clashes with the instructors, the recruits eventually band together and become a cohesive unit. Along the way, they engage in pranks, mishaps, and heroics, as they attempt to prove themselves as worthy police officers.
The film was a critical and commercial success, spawning multiple sequels and becoming an iconic comedy franchise of the 1980s and 1990s. The humor is often characterized by slapstick, irreverent jokes, and caricatures of police officers and recruits. Police Academy remains a beloved classic of the comedy genre.