Revisit: Kindergarten Cop

A Universal Pictures release 1990

Directed by Ivan Reitman

Written by Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod & Timothy Harris

A police officer goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down the wife and child of a ruthless drug lord.



This 1990 comedy is endlessly quotable, thanks to counter-programming Arnold Schwarzenegger's over-the-top action persona with a group of sharp-tongued little kids. Like many of Arnold's films the plot verges on completely ridiculous, and serves a fine helping of subverted genre cliches, including a crazed mother/son crime combo that make the Bates family look normal. A mild diversion, with the kind of dirty jokes involving kids that don't really make it into movies much anymore.