It's hard to imagine that, back in 1984, anyone would have thought this would spawn six sequels as well as a cartoon series. Yet somehow it managed to strike a chord with audiences around the world and made a star (well, briefly anyway) out of Steve Guttenberg. And, while the follow-ups became increasingly puerile as the series went on, the original film produced its fair share of belly laughs. Guttenberg leads a group of oddballs, who probably shouldn't even be allowed to watch cops on television, into police training, where they clash with authority but prove themselves in the end. It's crude and juvenile, but fans will be in heaven.

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!