Kindergarten Cop

Kindergarten Cop
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ivan Reitman
Produced by	Brian Grazer Ivan Reitman
Written by	Murray Salem Herschel Weingrod Timothy Harris
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Penelope Ann Miller Pamela Reed
Music by	Randy Edelman
Cinematography	Michael Chapman
Editing by	Wendy Greene Bricmont Sheldon Kahn
Studio	Imagine Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	December 21, 1990
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$26,000,000 (estimated)
Box office	$201,957,688

Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[1] Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), before Crisp can get to his ex-wife and son, while along the way he discovers his passion for teaching. Pamela Reed plays his partner Phoebe O'Hara, and Penelope Ann Miller plays Joyce, the teacher who becomes Kimble's love interest. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman. Schwarzenegger received a salary of $12 million for the film.^[2]

Plot

Detective John Kimble and O'Hara in the classroom (after she has recovered)

After years of pursuing drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), Los Angeles Police Detective John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has him on a murder charge after Crisp shot and killed an informant who had given him information regarding the whereabouts of his ex-wife, Rachel Myatt Crisp, and his son Cullen Jr. However, the only witness, a drug-addicted girl named Cindy, the informant's girlfriend who was hidden at the time of the murder, is deemed too unreliable to put Crisp up for a permanent prison charge as she changes her mind about testifying, so Rachel Myatt has to be found and persuaded to testify.

Kimble, accompanied by Detective Phoebe O'Hara (Pamela Reed), a former teacher, go undercover in Astoria, Oregon, to find Crisp's ex-wife Rachel. It is believed that Rachel stole millions of dollars from Crisp before fleeing. The detectives plan to offer her a deal to testify against Cullen in exchange for immunity. O'Hara is to act as the substitute teacher in the son's kindergarten class at Astoria Elementary School, while Kimble is to discover the identity of the mother.

Unfortunately, O'Hara, who is hypoglycemic, falls ill with a terrible case of stomach flu at the last moment, so Kimble takes the teacher's job. The school principal, Miss Schlowski (Linda Hunt), is suspicious, but Kimble adapts progressively to his new status even though he has no formal teaching experience. Using his pet ferret as a class mascot, his police training as a model for structure of the classes, and positive reinforcement, he becomes a much-admired and cherished figure to the children. In turn, Kimble begins to love his cover job and his young charges, to the point where he severely deals with a case of child abuse by assaulting the abusive father, finally winning Miss Schlowski's favor.

One of Kimble's students is a boy named Dominic. Kimble becomes fond of Dominic's mother, Joyce Palmieri (Penelope Ann Miller), who also works at the school. Joyce, like many other of the students' mothers, is estranged from her husband, so that she will not speak of him. This raises Kimble's suspicions. In a series of conversations with the gradually more trusting Joyce, Kimble slowly deduces that she has to be Rachel Crisp and that Dominic is Crisp's son. O'Hara has been posing as Kimble's sister and agrees with his deductions. Joyce reveals that she never stole any of Crisp's money: it was a lie he told to incite the underworld to find her for him.

Meanwhile, back in California, Cindy dies after using spiked cocaine provided by Crisp's mother, Eleanor Crisp (Carroll Baker). The case is dismissed because the prosecution has no other evidence. Crisp is freed from prison and immediately heads to Astoria, where he and his mother immediately begin looking for the child on the information from the informant. They identify Chrisp's ex-wife and Crisp starts a fire in the school in order to grab his son in the chaos, but he is seen. Crisp takes his own son hostage, but Crisp is bitten by the ferret (who Dominic had rescued at the sound of the fire alarm) and Dominic wriggles free. Crisp shoots Kimble in the knee and Kimble kills Crisp before he can hurt Dominic. Noticing that O'Hara is trying to help Kimble in the apprehension of her son, Eleanor runs over O'Hara with her rental car. She ventures into the school and shoots Kimble in the shoulder, but then discovers her dead son. Before she can shoot Kimble again and kill him, O'Hara arrives and knocks her unconscious with a baseball bat.

Crisp's mother is arrested, while the unconscious Kimble (much to the sadness of the children) is hospitalized. During Kimble's recovery, O'Hara and her chef boyfriend announce their engagement, inviting him to the wedding. After Kimble recovers, he quits the police force and returns to teaching at the school. The kids are very happy to see him, and Joyce comes into the classroom and kisses him in front of all the kids.

Cast

• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Detective John Kimble, a tough street cop who's forced to take an undercover assignment as a Kindergarten teacher. The main protagonist.
• Penelope Ann Miller as Joyce Palmieri / Rachel Myatt Crisp, a teacher whom Kimble falls for; Crisp's ex-wife.
• Pamela Reed as Detective Phoebe O'Hara, Kimble's partner who gets food poisoning, forcing him to cover for her on the assignment.
• Linda Hunt as Miss Schlowski, the school's strict principal; eventually grows to respect Kimble.
• Richard Tyson as Cullen Crisp, Sr., a vicious drug dealer who's searching for Joyce and especially Dominic, respectively his ex-wife and son. The main antagonist.
• Carroll Baker as Eleanor Crisp, Crisp's overbearing mother. The secondary antagonist.
• Christian and Joseph Cousins as Dominic Palmieri / Cullen Crisp, Jr., Joyce and Crisp's son; becomes close to Kimble.
• Justin Page as Zach Sullivan, a shy student in the class; Kimble believes that he's Crisp's son until he learns that his mother's still married and their family is dealing with domestic violence.
• Cathy Moriarty as Jillian
• Ben Diskin as Sylvester, Jillian's son
• Miko Hughes as the child of an OB/GYN father
• Sarah Rose Karr as Emma, one of Kimble's students.
• Richard Portnow as Captain Salazar, Kimble and O'Hara's boss.
• Tom Kurlander as Danny, a criminal who gives Crisp information on his family; is then shot by him.
• Alix Koromzay as Cindy, witnesses Danny's killing and becomes a state witness; later overdoses on cocaine, courtesy of Eleanor.
• Bob Nelson as Henry Shoop, O'Hara's fiancee.
• Tom Dugan as Crisp's lawyer
• Emily Eby as Julie
• Odette Yustman as Rosa
• Angela Bassett as Flight Attendant
• Jason Reitman as Boy kissing Girl

Bill Murray, Patrick Swayze & Danny DeVito were all approached to play the role of John Kimble.

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews from critics. Reviewer Caryn James of The New York Times has said "Like Twins, which was also directed by Ivan Reitman, nothing in Kindergarden Cop is as funny as the idea of it".^[3] It holds a 52% "Rotten" rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.^[4] It holds a rating of 61/100 at Metacritic.^[5] In Kim Newman's review for Empire he said "with a heart of purest mush, Kindergarten Cop still manages to be generally entertaining" and gave the film 3 stars out of 5.^[6] In a rewiew for EW.com, it was said at the time of release that "the move never quite gels" and "Kindergarten Cop is not going to generate quite the mega-hit business their producers are counting on", and gave the movie a 'C' grade.^[7] Roger Ebert has said "Kindergarten Cop 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 has awarded the film three stars.^[8]

Box Office

Despite the mixed reviews, The movie was a box office success making over $200 million worldwide.^[9]

Filming locations

Exterior scenes at "Astoria Elementary School" were filmed at John Jacob Astor Elementary School, located at 3550 Franklin Ave. in Astoria, Oregon.^[10]

At Astor, Universal Studios hired local artists to paint murals on the walls, provided new playground equipment, fenced the playground, and laid a new lawn and hedges around the school building. Most of the filming was completed after school was out in June 1990; therefore many of the students and staff were able to be in the movie as extras. Students' artwork was also used. Teachers and neighbors, as well as students, were used in filming; viewers see Astor School's custodian, "Mr. John" raising the flag for an early morning scene.^{[citation needed]}

Also filmed in or near Astoria:

• John and Phoebe stayed at the Bayview Motel, 783 W. Marine Drive, Astoria. The vintage lodging facility "played itself" in the film.
• Scenes involving John and Phoebe walking to dinner, and Crisp and his mother shopping, were filmed on Commercial Street in downtown Astoria.
• The exterior portions of the restaurant scene were filmed outside the Seafare Restaurant at the Red Lion Inn, 400 Industry St., in Astoria.
• Scenes at Joyce and Dominic's house (interior and exterior) were filmed at a private residence located at 414 Exchange St., Astoria.
• Highway scenes were filmed on U.S. 26 east of Seaside, Oregon, 20 miles from Astoria.
• The school picnic was filmed at Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach, Oregon, 25 miles south of Astoria.

Information on Astoria-area locations are courtesy of the Astoria & Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce.^[11]

Interior school scenes were shot at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.^[10] The film's opening scene was filmed at the Westfield MainPlace in Santa Ana, California and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.^[10]

See also

Film portal

• List of American films of 1990

In Pop Culture

• The film's found a following on the Internet with people who record and upload prank calls featuring Schwarzenegger's lines from the movie.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "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. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-21/entertainment/ca-7037_1_kindergarten-cop. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
2. ^ "Arnold Schwarzenegger". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/people/ASCHW.php. Retrieved February 19, 2009. 
3. ^ James, Caryn (December 21, 1990)"Kindergarten Cop (1990)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE4DB163FF932A15751C1A966958260. Retrieved 30 October, 2011. 
4. ^ "Kindergarten Cop". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kindergarten_cop/. 
5. ^ "Kindergarten Cop". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/kindergarten-cop. Retrieved 30 October, 2011. 
6. ^ "Kindergarten Cop". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=14770. Retrieved 30 October, 2011. 
7. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (December 21, 1990)"Kindergarten Cop (1990)". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318904,00.html. Retrieved 30 October, 2011. 
8. ^ Ebert, Roger (December 21, 1990)"Kindergarten Cop (PG-13)". rogerebert.suntimes.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19901221/REVIEWS/12210302. Retrieved 30 October, 2011. 
9. ^ "WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : Moviegoers Go for the Laughs". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-08/entertainment/ca-7898_1_weekend-box-office. Retrieved 2011-01-11. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Filming locations for Kindergarten Cop". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099938/locations. Retrieved 21 June 2009. 
11. ^ Astoria & Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce

External links

• Kindergarten Cop at the Internet Movie Database
• Kindergarten Cop at AllRovi
• Kindergarten Cop at Box Office Mojo
• Kindergarten Cop at Rotten Tomatoes