Police Academy 3: Back in Training

Police Academy 3: Back in Training is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Jerry Paris and starring Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Marion Ramsey, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Shawn Weatherly, Bobcat Goldthwait, Art Metrano, Lance Kinsey, Ed Nelson, and George Gaynes, and is the third film in the Police Academy film series.

Summary
When police funding is cut, the Governor announces he must close one of the academies. To make it fair, the two police academies must compete against each other to stay in operation. Cmndt. Eric Lassard calls on his former graduates to help train the new recruits, while Cmndt. Mauser persuades two officers in Lassard's academy to better his odds, but things don't quite turn out as expected...

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The acting is still pretty good.
 * 2) The jokes continue to deliver, such as Mauser losing his eyebrows through tape from a taste test, Zed and Sweetchuck doing a parody of the shower scene from Psycho, and Proctor locked outside his hotel room naked thanks to Mahoney's prostitute friend from the first film.
 * 3) Still a pretty cool soundtrack, such as Callahan and Hooks singing "It's a Team Thing" at the policepersons' ball.
 * 4) The plot about thinking outside the box is very good, which results in Lassard's academy winning against Mauser's academy in the end.
 * 5) Exciting, fast-paced climax involving jetski's and speedboats, and plenty of fight scenes.
 * 6) Zed is still a pretty funny character, and his odd friendship with Sweetchuck really shines throughout the film.
 * 7) Plenty of call-backs to the first film, such as Fackler now being the one to ride on the hood of his car being driven by his wife, instead of the other way around before, and another appearance from Mahoney's prostitute friend.
 * 8) The ending is very nice, with the graduating class saluting the camera before the credits roll.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Zed can still be annoying at times.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * The Japanese character Tomoko Nogata was originally written as an Indian named Ramu, which explains why Nogata sleeps on a bed of nails that he picked up in New Delhi, and also likes to meditate with his hand over a candle flame.
 * 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.
 * 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!"
 * It took Leslie Easterbrook four hours just to learn how to start one of the jetski's for the final chase scene.
 * 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.
 * Jerry Paris and Leslie Easterbrook had an affair while making this movie. Paris died ten days after the film's American release.
 * Drew Struzan said he considers the poster art for this film as his personal favourite of all the Police Academy posters he created.
 * 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.
 * 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!"