 Kindergarten Cop (1990) Kindergarten Cop isn't much different in this respect: He's an undercover cop posing as a kindergarten teacher. Arnold + "Kids Say the Darndest Things" = comedy gold. Except that by juxtaposing Arnold with a roomful of kids, something interesting happens: an Arnold Schwarnenegger movie acquires heart. KC vacillates between a faux-gritty police thriller about a no-holds-barred detective chasing down a drug dealer, and faux-sappy romantic comedy about a man coming to terms with his sensitive side after falling for a beautiful teacher/single mom. The action part of it is so fake it seems like a "movie within a movie"—no doubt because so much needed to be toned down to package Arnold as family fare. But the romantic comedy side is so sweet and appealing that the contrived drug-dealer shenanigans don't end up needing to feel all that "true." What is amazing here is that Arnold actually shows some range and depth of emotion. And you can't go wrong with kids saying cute things and using malapropisms on camera. Penelope Ann Miller is winning as the love interest; scummy Richard Tyson is way out of his league as the drug dealer. A few of the scenes are laughably staged, but you forgive these moments because there are always so many children on-screen to remind you that you shouldn't want to see a lot of bloodshed anyway. You don't have to actually see Kindergarten Cop to "get" it, but it's much better than you'd expect, and it still holds up. If I have to watch a Schwarzenegger movie, I'll go for this one, 'cause for the most part I'm very racist concerning robots.
Review by Short Shortman |