“Mahoney must think he’s as dumb as we are.”
Justin’s rating: Domo, domo
Justin’s review: Believe it or not, the Police Academy series actually does have some really funny jokes that have withstood the test of time. It’s not the fault of the better flicks that the unwanted step-children (like Mission to Moscow) have rewritten history to say that this whole experience was universally bad. It’s just the fault of your best friend Willy, who’s not really your friend — he just likes you for your video games and your endless supplies of pudding cups.
After plowing through reviewing this seven-part series in non-chronological order (I think I did them 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 3), I concluded that the third film was before things went really sour. Police Academy 3: Back In Training retains some of the sly, witty humor that made these earlier films a hit before all of the gags would eventually degrade into a non-stop slapstick Twister party.
There’s a saying that goes, if it’s broke, don’t fix it — and if it got slightly broke, reformat your hard drive and reinstall the original discs that worked. Police Academy 2 suffered from a much lower budget, a lack of Lassard, and the non-police academy setting. So the filmmakers rolled the clock back and tried less to reinvent Back in Training and more an effort to recall all the best aspects of the first film while shifting the series into PG mode.
With the return to the academy setting, a new batch of recruits roll in to be instructed by some of our favorite recurring characters (and, let’s face it, some not-so-favorite-but-they-kept-hanging-on characters). New recruits include Brother-In-Law of Tackleberry, Japanese Guy, crazy Zed (rehabilitated from Police Academy 2), and meek Sweetchuck (also from the former flick). Zed is possibly the greatest asset to this series, as he literally goes bonkers in each scene and makes it hilarious to watch — don’t miss his midnight bongo solo in the dorm room!
This movie feels more like a comfy ’80s comedy and less of a tedious crime caper genre, mostly because the bulk of the film pits Lassard’s academy against the somewhat-evil Mauser’s academy, as only one academy will survive due to budget cutbacks. This is a perfect setup for numerous throwaway jokes and scenes, and it flows quite nicely.
For all the one-dimensional notes that these characters have to work with, Steve Guttenberg’s Mahoney is the most puzzling. Mahoney is not only supposed to be this super-womanizer (um… sure, in another universe where all women are blind, perhaps), but he’s meant to be the ultimate anti-authority slacker and leader of the bunch. Explain to me, then, why the entire range of his character and their actions is pretty much tied up in sly grins and shallow inspirational speeches? Let’s face it: In the Police Academy sea of anorexic fishes, Mahoney is nothing more than a paper-thin flounder. Good riddance.
I quite enjoyed Back in Training — not enough to buy it, but certainly enough not to flip the channel if it came on cable one day.
Mutant Reviewers 
Here’s a list of fun facts:
1.Karen Adams, Mahoney’s second love interest, was originally called “Karen Hoover” in a earlier draft. The name was changed because the implied reference to oral sex was considered too racy for the film’s younger audience demographic, compared to that of the previous two movies.
2.The Japanese character Tomoko Nogata was originally written as an Indian named Ramu, which explains why Nogata sleeps on a bed of nails he picked up in New Delhi, and also likes to meditate with his hand over a candle flame.
3.Bubba Smith only found out about having to wear a dress and wig when he showed up on-location to shoot the purse-snatching scene. Smith was asked to shave his moustache, but he declined, so Smith was filmed from behind in the scene.
4.Bobcat Goldthwait said in an interview that he was considered a difficult actor on set. He had made a suggestion to the filmmakers that the villains in the final chase scene should be the same ones who appeared earlier in the movie. Goldthwait was told to just say his lines, and that they were not paying him to write. Goldthwait later remarked, “I was almost thrown out of the academy for trying to introduce plots!“
5.It took Leslie Easterbrook four hours just to learn how to start one of the jetski’s for the final chase scene.
6.This was Jerry Paris’ final film. It had originally been the intention that this film and Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol would be filmed back-to-back, but Paris was too ill during production for this to work, and so Jim Drake was hired to direct the next film.
7.Jerry Paris and Leslie Easterbrook had an affair while making this movie. Paris died ten days after the film’s American release.
8.Drew Struzan said he considers the poster art for this film as his personal favourite of all the Police Academy posters he created.
9.This film marked the final appearance for Art Metrano as Cmdt. Mauser, though Metrano would pop up again in 1997’s Police Academy: The Series as a County Sheriff named Ernie Meiser.
10.Steve Guttenberg was a constant prankster behind the scenes. On one occasion, he rigged up a fake birthday party for George Gaynes. According to Lance Kinsey, “He went over the top, brought in strippers and everything. It was six months from Georgie’s birthday!“