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Police Academy poster

Movies that feel likePolice Academy (1984)

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

If you loved Police Academy, the closest films we have are A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). All three share Police Academy's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hera Pheri (2000).

🍅 58% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Hugh Wilsonwittyplayfulgritty
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Police Academy hit the spot, these will too

A Fish Called Wanda poster
A Fish Called Wanda
1988 · dir. Charles Crichton
🍅 96%★ 7.5comedy · crime

Both land wit and play at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult poster
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994 · dir. Peter Segal
🍅 66%★ 6.5comedy · crimeParamount+

Comedy with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Frank Drebin is persuaded out of retirement to go undercover in a state prison. There he has to find out what top terrorist, Rocco, has planned for when he escapes. Adding to his problems, Frank's wife, Jane, is desperate for a baby.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery poster
🍅 72%★ 7comedy · crime

Witty crime in both cases

As a swinging fashion photographer by day and a groovy British superagent by night, Austin Powers is the '60s' most shagadelic spy. But can he stop megalomaniac Dr. Evil after the bald villain freezes himself and unthaws in the '90s? With the help of sexy sidekick Vanessa Kensington, he just might.

The Pink Panther poster
The Pink Panther
1963 · dir. Blake Edwards
🍅 89%★ 7comedy · crime

Comedy built on play, twice over

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 1960s show

The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for the Tyrolean Alps, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is...

Hera Pheri poster
Hera Pheri
2000 · dir. Priyadarshan
★ 8.2comedy · crime

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

My Name Is Nobody poster
My Name Is Nobody
1973 · dir. Tonino Valerii
🍅 100%★ 7.3comedy · westernPrime Video

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

The difference: Sits closer to western than Police Academy does

Jack Beauregard, an aging gunman of the Old West, only wants to retire in peace and move to Europe, but a young gunfighter known as "Nobody" who idolizes Beauregard wants him to go out in a blaze of glory. So, he arranges for Jack to face the 150-man gang known as The Wild Bunch and earn his place in history.

Fun with Dick and Jane poster
Fun with Dick and Jane
2005 · dir. Dean Parisot
🍅 30%★ 6.2comedy · crime

Playful crime in both cases

After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it – but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.

Big Momma's House poster
Big Momma's House
2000 · dir. Raja Gosnell
🍅 31%★ 5.3crime · comedyStarz

Both work the same grit

When a street-smart FBI agent is sent to Georgia to protect a beautiful single mother and her son from an escaped convict, he is forced to impersonate a crass Southern granny known as Big Momma in order to remain incognito.

Bottle Rocket poster
Bottle Rocket
1996 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 86%★ 6.9comedy · crime · drama

Both working the same comedy territory

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

White Chicks poster
White Chicks
2004 · dir. Keenen Ivory Wayans
🍅 15%★ 6comedy · crimeNetflix

Crime approached the same way

Two FBI agent brothers, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, accidentally foil a drug bust. To avoid being fired they accept a mission escorting a pair of socialites to the Hamptons--but when the girls are disfigured in a car accident, they refuse to go. Left without options, Marcus and Kevin decide to pose as the sisters, transforming themselves from black men into rich white women.

Beverly Hills Cop II poster
Beverly Hills Cop II
1987 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 48%★ 6.6action · comedy · crime

Both play comedy straight

Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.

Big Deal on Madonna Street poster
Big Deal on Madonna Street
1958 · dir. Mario Monicelli
🍅 89%★ 7.9comedy · crime

Crime in the same key

Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finally devised a master heist that will make them rich. With the help of some fellow criminals, he plans to dig a tunnel from a rented apartment to the pawnshop next door, where they can rob the safe. But his plan is far from foolproof, and the fact that no one in the group has any experience digging tunnels proves to be the least of their problems.

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The best-reviewed films that share Police Academy’s defining feeling.