Kindergarten Cop (1990)

John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a cop assigned to put a killer named Crisp behind bars for good. To do so, Kimble needs to find Crisp's son and ex-wife. All he knows for certain is the name of the small Oregon town where the live and that the boy is kindergarten age. Kimble goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to try to find the boy. Even though he's a tough cop on a mission, Kimble realizes, to his amazement, that he enjoys teaching the kids. He also finds a love interest in one of the other teachers, Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller) - a single mother whose son is in Kimble's class. And, as luck would have it, Kimble discovers that Joyce is Crisp's ex-wife. How convenient! Kimble will have to act fact, though, because Crisp is on his way to collect his son. For the most part, Kindergarten Cop is an enjoyable movie. Schwarzenegger seems naturally unnatural around the kids, but that works in the film's favor. Kimble should be awkward around his class. There are a number of humorous interactions between the un-humorous Kimble and the kids - my favorite being his reaction to the kid obsessed with death. Good stuff. As awkward as Schwarzenegger is around the children, it's the exact opposite when it comes to his co-star, Miller. There's a nice chemistry between the two that really shows on-screen. I would have loved to see the pair make more movies together. Another plus for kindergarten cop is Pamela Reed playing Kimble's partner. Reed is always good and gives a solid performance here. Throw in some nice action toward the film's conclusion and Kindergarten Cop ends up being a nice experience. I do, however, have two complaints. First, the film is too long. I really think that if just 10 to 15 minutes were cut from the runtime, it would be a better, tighter movie. Cut the scenes with Cathy Moriarty, for example. They add zilch to the final product. Second, baddie Crisp and his mother aren't threatening enough. They're jokes. Had the pair been played with a more menacing tone, the final showdown would have been even better. Still, it's a solid film as is.