Kindergarten Cop

Kindergarten Cop

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Produced by Ivan Reitman
Brian Grazer
Screenplay by Murray Salem
Herschel Weingrod
Timothy Harris
Story by Murray Salem
Starring
Music by Randy Edelman
Cinematography Michael Chapman
Edited by Wendy Greene Bricmont
Sheldon Kahn
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • December 22, 1990 (1990-12-22)
Running time
 111 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $202 million[1][2]

Kindergarten Cop is an American crime comedy-drama film, released to cinemas in the United States on December 22, 1990,[2] directed by Ivan Reitman, distributed by Universal Pictures.[2] Arnold Schwarzenegger[3] stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch violent drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson) before Crisp can get to his former wife and son.

While undercover, Kimble discovers his passion for teaching and considers changing his profession to become an educator. Pamela Reed plays his partner, Phoebe O'Hara, and Penelope Ann Miller plays Joyce, the teacher who becomes his love interest. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman. The film was released in the United Kingdom on February 1, 1991, and topped the country's box office that weekend.

Plot

After years of pursuing drug lord Cullen Crisp, LAPD detective John Kimble finally has him on a murder charge after Crisp kills an informant who gives him information regarding the whereabouts of his former wife Rachel Myatt Crisp and son Cullen, Jr.

Accompanied by detective and former teacher Phoebe O'Hara, Kimble goes undercover in Astoria, Oregon, to find Crisp's former wife who allegedly stole millions of dollars from Crisp before fleeing. The detectives plan to offer her immunity in exchange for testifying against Crisp in court. To find Crisp's former wife, O'Hara is to act as the substitute teacher in Cullen Jr.'s kindergarten class at Astoria Elementary School.

Unfortunately, the hypoglycemic O'Hara gets a terrible case of the stomach flu and falls ill at the last moment, so Kimble takes the teacher's job. The suspicious school principal Miss Schlowski is convinced Kimble will not last long before quitting. Though overwhelmed at first, Kimble adapts to his new status, despite not having any formal teaching experience or training. Using his pet ferret as a class mascot, his police training as a model for structure of the classes, his experience as a father, and positive reinforcement, he becomes a much-admired and cherished figure to the children.

In turn, Kimble begins to like his undercover job and considers changing his career. He also deals with a case of child abuse, eventually punishing Zach Sullivan's father for abusing his son and winning Schlowski's favor. She witnesses his teaching style throughout and assures him that though she does not agree with his methods, she can see that he is a good teacher. Kimble becomes fond of his student Dominic's mother Joyce Palmieri, who also works at the school. Joyce is estranged from her husband and will not speak of him.

After a series of conversations with the gradually more trusting Joyce, Kimble slowly deduces that she is Rachel Crisp and that Dominic is Cullen Jr. Back in California, the witness to the informant's murder dies after using spiked cocaine provided by Crisp's mother Eleanor, closing the case because the prosecution has no further evidence. Crisp is freed from prison and immediately heads to Astoria with his mother to search for Dominic.

Once at the school, Crisp starts a fire in the school library in order to get to Dominic and holds him hostage after being discovered. Luckily, Kimble's ferret bites Crisp on the neck, allowing Dominic to run free. Crisp shoots Kimble in the leg, then Kimble fatally shoots Crisp. Eleanor also wounds Kimble in the shoulder and discovers her dead son, but is knocked unconscious with a baseball bat by an enraged O'Hara before she can shoot Kimble.

Eleanor is arrested, while the unconscious Kimble is hospitalized. During Kimble's recovery, O'Hara and her chef fiancé, Henry, announce their marriage, inviting him to attend. After recovering, Kimble returns to the school, where he reunites with the kids and receives a kiss from Joyce in front of them.

Cast

Angela Bassett appears as a flight attendant in the airplane.

Kimble's Class

Along with the Cousins twins, who played Dominic Palmieri/Cullen Crisp, Jr., the child actors in the kindergarten class included:

Director Reitman's daughter, future Black-ish actress Catherine Reitman, played a 3rd grade student, while his teenaged son, future director Jason Reitman, played the Kissing Boy who stayed in the school during the climatic fire scene.

Bill Murray,[4] Patrick Swayze, and Danny DeVito were all approached to play the role of John Kimble.

Filming locations

Exterior scenes at Astoria Elementary School were filmed at John Jacob Astor Elementary School, located at 3550 Franklin Ave. in Astoria, Oregon.[5]

Universal Studios hired local artists Judith Niland and Carl Lyle Jenkins to paint murals on the walls at Astoria, and provided new playground equipment, a fenced playground, and a new lawn and hedges around the school building. Most of the filming was completed after school was out in June 1990[6] allowing many of the students and staff to be extras in the movie.[7] Students' artwork was also used.

Schwarzenegger's contract stipulated that a private studio for daily workouts and weightlifting be provided for the actor and his personal staff; a suitable studio was located, but when an agreement could not be reached, the actor threatened to pull out of the production. An Astoria business owner stepped in and donated unused commercial space deemed suitable for Schwarzenegger and the shoot continued.

Also filmed in or near Astoria:

Information on Astoria area locations are courtesy of the Astoria & Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce.[8]

Interior school scenes were shot at Universal Studios in Hollywood.[5] The film's opening scene was filmed at the Westfield MainPlace in Santa Ana, California, and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California.[5]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 51%, based on 35 reviews.[9] On Metacritic, it has a score of 61 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[10] Reviewer Caryn James of The New York Times said, "Like Twins, which was also directed by Ivan Reitman, nothing in the film is as funny as the idea of it."[11]

In Kim Newman's review for Empire, he wrote, "with a heart of purest mush, the film still manages to be generally entertaining" and gave it 3 stars out of 5.[12] An EW.coms review at the time of release notes that: "the movie never quite gels and it is not going to generate quite the mega-hit business their producers are counting on," giving the movie a 'C' grade.[13] Roger Ebert said the movie: "is made up of two parts that shouldn't fit, but somehow they do, making a slick entertainment out of the improbable, the impossible and Arnold Schwarzenegger" and awarded the film three stars.[14]

On April Fool's Day 2012, as a prank, it was announced that the film was selected for a release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc as part of the Criterion Collection, a video-distribution company dedicated to the release of "important classic and contemporary films". It was said to be selected as important in part because of its genre-revisionist use of both the policier and family comedy genres in the same film.[15] It was officially released on Blu-ray on July 1, 2014.

Box office

Despite the mixed reviews, the film was a box office success and has grossed $91.4 million in North America, $110.5 in other territories, and $202 million worldwide.[1][2]

Soundtrack

Kindergarten Cop: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score (Digital download / Audio CD) by Randy Edelman
Released August 31, 1993
Label Varese Sarabande

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Astoria School Theme"   1:06
2. "Children's Montage"   3:21
3. "Love Theme (Joyce)"   2:30
4. "Stalking Crisp"   3:40
5. "Dominic's Theme/A Rough Day"   1:54
6. "The Line Up/Fireside Chat"   2:57
7. "Rain Ride"   1:55
8. "The Kindergarten Cop"   1:27
9. "Poor Cindy/Gettysburg Address"   2:06
10. "A Dinner Invitation"   0:47
11. "Love Theme Reprise"   1:25
12. "A Magic Place"   2:54
13. "Kimble Reveals the Truth"   1:45
14. "The Tower/Everything Is OK"   2:29
15. "Fire at the School"   5:38
16. "Closing"   2:14
Total length:
 34:48

Sequel

In June 2015, Showbiz 411 announced that the studio's 1440 division were developing a sequel to the film, with Don Michael Paul as director and David H. Steinberg as scriptwriter. The protagonist now have an Indian sidekick named Sanjit, and they are now searching for a flash drive that has been stolen from the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. The antagonists are now Albanian.

Showbiz 411 also caused speculation that a television series may be being considered.[16] Dolph Lundgren was seen shooting scenes for the film.[17] The sequel is called Kindergarten Cop 2.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Broeske, Pat H. (January 8, 1991). "WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : Moviegoers Go for the Laughs". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kindergarten Cop". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ King, Susan (December 21, 1990). "Ivan Reitman, 'Kindergarten Cop's' Top Sergeant : Movies: The director of 'Ghostbusters' and 'Twins' faces his biggest challenge yet: a room full of tykes. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger was cowed.". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  4. ↑ Evans, Bradford (17 February 2011). "The Lost Roles of Bill Murray". Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Filming locations for Kindergarten Cop". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Schwarzenegger film scenes set in Astoria". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. May 25, 1990. p. 13D.
  7. ↑ "An Oregon principal is the real Kindergarten Cop". People. 35 (2). January 21, 1991. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  8. ↑ Astoria & Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce
  9. ↑ "Kindergarten Cop". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
  10. ↑ "Kindergarten Cop". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  11. ↑ James, Caryn (December 21, 1990). "Kindergarten Cop (1990)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Kindergarten Cop". Empire. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  13. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (December 21, 1990). "Kindergarten Cop (1990)". EW.com. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  14. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 21, 1990). "Kindergarten Cop (PG-13)". rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  15. ↑ Collection, Criterion. "Kindergarten Cop Ivan Reitman". Criterion Collection Site. http://www.criterion.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012. External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ↑ Friedman, Roger (June 9, 2015). "Reboot: "KIndergarten Cop" (Without Arnold) Headed Back to Big Screen With Indian Sidekick". Show Biz 411.
  17. ↑ "FIRST KINDERGARTEN COP 2 IMAGES FEATURING DOLPH LUNDGREN SURFACE". EpicTimes. August 13, 2015./
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