Kindergarten Cop

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Anne Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt and Richard Tyson.

Director: Ivan Reitman

Release Date: 1990

Genre: Action

Running Time: 1hr 51 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis:

John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is city cop who's been after drug dealer Cullen Crisp for years. He manages to finally track him down however it seems that the only person who can testify against him is his ex wife (Penelope Anne Miller), the problem is she's gone on the run, no one can find her, apart from the school where supposedly her young son Dominic attends, when things don't quite as planned in finding Crisps wife, John finds he must go on his toughest quest yet as an undercover Kindergarten teacher.

I was first introduced to this film at quite a young age, probably a bit too young, as I have mentioned before I was always curious at what movies my brother owned and this one was of them. I was probably a bit too young as it did frighten me for a years, some moments in this movie are a bit hard to watch, especially if you do have children. Ivan Reitman directed this beauty of a movie back in 1990, probably the prime of action movies, just after "Back to the Future" and the same year as the hit movie "Ghost" starring Patrick Swayze.

We've got a pretty interesting cast, besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, we don't really see many of the faces in this movie anymore, although you might recognize Pamela Reed from "Junior" also starring Arnie and Linda Hunt who did a voice in the hit Disney movie "Pocahontas" don't be put off though, this is a wonderful cast, they work brilliantly together and Richard Tyson who plays bad guy Chris is absolutely brilliant, I always think it's quite a task to play a bad guy especially if you are known to others off set as an extremely nice and generous person. That ladies and gentlemen is what makes them wonderful actors though. As strange as it sounds, the chemistry between Arnie and Richard Tyson is fabulous. It's hard to believe that the man playing an undercover Kindergarten teacher was also a badass Robot in "Terminator" I guess again though, that's what makes him such a good actor.

The young lad who plays Dominic played by twins Joseph and Christian Cousins, not known for acting anymore, however they did a fantastic job in this movie playing Dominic, I'd normally say don't expect a lot from a child actor, not only are they starting out in their career they are also just children, so it's best not to expect a lot, they both do a really great job though and have a great relationship with Arnold Schwarzenegger in this film.

The storyline is really really good, despite it being an action movie there are great moments of humour, especially once Arnie attends the school as an undercover teacher, lots of mayhem unfolds. If there are any teachers reading, you might even be able to relate? Lessons don't always go quite as planned do they? Don't worry there is definitely plenty of action and some really great choreographed fight sequences. Some scenes involving the school are extremely funny, you never quite know what's going to happen. Did I mention John Kimble also owns a pet ferret?

This movie is set in Oregon, Canada, with some beautiful scenery sadly, not a lot, but you do see some in the background. Most of the set design is around an elementary school, I'd imagine quite a simple set in terms of budget for the filmmakers. Considering most stuff takes place at the school this makes a lot of sense, of course you do see other things too, it's not all aimed at the school. There are some nice little homages to Ivan Reitman too in this movie, I won't give away what though? That's up to you to spot! Most of the action scenes do take closer to the end of the movie, but there is plenty of action through out the film too.

Despite this movie being a PG-13, there are moments of violence in this movie that personally are a bit grown up for those in their early teens, I certainly wouldn't let anyone under the age of twelve watch this, there is mention of illegal drugs quite often and a lot of scenes involving guns. I mean let's face it, what would you expect from a movie about a Police officer who goes undercover as a Kindergarten teacher? There are also some scenes that are extremely relatable and realistic that might be quite sensitive to some audiences.

I really enjoyed this movie, if your a Arnie fan, then this is definitely something you are gonna enjoy. If you love action movies too, then I'd say you'd probably enjoy this quite a bit, it's aimed at a family as well though, but perhaps don't have very young children in the same room as you when watching, this is a PG-13 don't forget, and the DVD copy won't be as well edited as that on TV, where a lot of the violence and language is taken out. This is probably one of Arnie's best movies besides the "Terminator" franchise. A must watch.

4/5 stars