hongkong666 Back in the 90s there were tons of Comedy movies with a very weird twist or idea behind them, and without a doubt Kindergarten Cop is one of them. After the main villain Crisp (Richard Tyson) got arrested for murder by Detective John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the cops were not able to find the money involved in a case before recent events and assume it must be put aside by the (now former) wife Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller). She started a new life in Oregon with her little son Dominic (played by Christian and Joseph Cousins) and so Kimble and his partner and former teacher, Phoebe O'Hara (Pamela Reed), plan to go undercover. A stomach flu forces the duo to change their plans and now instead of O'Hara, Kimble has to pose as the teacher for the kindergarten class. And that is where the fun starts, because he basically has no clue what to do with these young kids. There are quite a few funny moments in this movie and it will work just great to show it to your own kids while they are still young. It's definetely one of those movies who are nice to grow up with and I also have lots of feelings of nostalgia when I think about Kindergarten Cop. Re-watching this as an adult on the other hand doesn't have this impact at all though. Movies got a lot better during the years and this makes a film like this seem very naive and innocent, which can be a good thing, but unfortunately also quite incompetent. Now we notice all the flaws we didn't even care about as we saw it though the eyes of a kid. Having experienced both sides of the coin let's just leave this movie with a smile and put it to the average flicks we loved back in the good old days... But show it to your kids!

bensonmum2 John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a cop assigned to put a killer named Crisp behind bars for good. To do so, Kimble needs to find Crisp's son and ex-wife. All he knows for certain is the name of the small Oregon town where the live and that the boy is kindergarten age. Kimble goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to try to find the boy. Even though he's a tough cop on a mission, Kimble realizes, to his amazement, that he enjoys teaching the kids. He also finds a love interest in one of the other teachers, Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller) - a single mother whose son is in Kimble's class. And, as luck would have it, Kimble discovers that Joyce is Crisp's ex-wife. How convenient! Kimble will have to act fact, though, because Crisp is on his way to collect his son.For the most part, Kindergarten Cop is an enjoyable movie. Schwarzenegger seems naturally unnatural around the kids, but that works in the film's favor. Kimble should be awkward around his class. There are a number of humorous interactions between the un-humorous Kimble and the kids - my favorite being his reaction to the kid obsessed with death. Good stuff. As awkward as Schwarzenegger is around the children, it's the exact opposite when it comes to his co-star, Miller. There's a nice chemistry between the two that really shows on-screen. I would have loved to see the pair make more movies together. Another plus for kindergarten cop is Pamela Reed playing Kimble's partner. Reed is always good and gives a solid performance here. Throw in some nice action toward the film's conclusion and Kindergarten Cop ends up being a nice experience. I do, however, have two complaints. First, the film is too long. I really think that if just 10 to 15 minutes were cut from the runtime, it would be a better, tighter movie. Cut the scenes with Cathy Moriarty, for example. They add zilch to the final product. Second, baddie Crisp and his mother aren't threatening enough. They're jokes. Had the pair been played with a more menacing tone, the final showdown would have been even better. Still, it's a solid film as is.

John Brooks People judge (music, films, other people...) according to very strict, redundant criteria. There are very often way overrated films, films that aren't really special but that do fit the general consensus and criteria, or simply, the 'demand'.But a lot more rare, are the underrated films such as this one. It's mainstream enough, the humor, the acting standard enough. It's got a highly recognizable face and lead character stereotype that America usually adores, a simple enough plot and development with morals, cute children and family values at the center of it... and to be honest, it does a pretty darn good job at what it sets out to do.In a way, it's much better than what it "should've been".And yet, the fan average barely scrapes over the 6/10 mark and the critics are just as snobby towards it but that's to be expected.'Arnie' is charming and unintentionally/intentionally hilarious as ever, the film has simply monumentally cult quotes, it's fast, cute, fun, funny, and of course it's got that bit of hollow flavor towards the end where great movies usually shine most, but it's absolutely tolerable when we're given such a genuinely entertaining ride prior.A well earned 7/10. Certainly underrated.

Michael_Elliott Kindergarten Cop (1990) *** (out of 4) Detective Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher because they get word that a drug lord's (Richard Tyson) ex-wife might be living there under a different name. The police need her to testify against her former husband and soon the new teacher begins to think the person might be another teacher (Penelope Ann Miller) that he has fallen for.I watched KINDERGARTEN COP several times when it was originally released and as a ten-year-old I found it to be funny and exciting. Revisiting the film nearly two decades later had my entertainment level drop down some but I still thought it was a pretty good movie, although it's certainly uneven to say the least.I say uneven because if you remember when the film came out then you probably remember the film getting attacked for being marketed towards children even though there are some rather dark moments in the film. It's weird because part of the film is aimed at the kids with Schwarzenegger playing a lovable giant and there are some great and funny moments as him as the teacher. On the other hand, the film also has some rather tense violence as well as some darker subject matters including divorce and child abuse.Director Ivan Reitman does a good job on both parts of the film but at the same time they kind of take away from each other. The darkness means there's not going to be enough laughs and what laughs there are takes away from a pretty good cop movie. Schwarzenegger turns in a good performance as he has no problem playing the tough detective but I also thought he was charming and fun as the teacher. Miller has always been an underrated actress and she too is quite good here. Tyson makes for a great villain and we get nice support from Pamela Reed, Carroll Baker and Cathy Moriarty.KINDERGARTEN COP runs a bit too long and it's certainly way too predictable but if you're a fan of the action star then you can overlook the flaws and just enjoy the picture.