Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment is a 1985 comedy film directed by Jerry Paris. It is the first of six sequels in the Police Academy series.

Many actors return from the first film to respectively reprise their roles. Steve Guttenberg reprises his role as Mahoney, the class clown; former American football player Bubba Smith returns as the man-mountain Hightower; Marion Ramsey is featured again as Laverne Hooks; David Graf returns as gun-crazy Officer Eugene Tackleberry; Michael Winslow returns as sound effects wizard Officer Larvell Jones, and veteran actor George Gaynes returns as Commandant Eric Lassard.

New faces in Police Academy 2 include Howard Hesseman as Captain Pete Lassard (the brother of Police Academy commandant Eric Lassard), Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed, the leader of "The Scullions", an obnoxious gang, Art Metrano as Lt. Mauser, Peter Van Norden as slobbish police dog sergeant Vinnie, Tim Kazurinsky as hapless business owner Carl Sweetchuck, as well as Julie Brown. In the film, the Police Academy cadets have graduated and are assigned to the worst precinct in town, where they have to help Captain Pete Lassard fight Zed's gang.

Plot
After a random attack the night before by a local gang known as "The Scullions" and their infantile leader Zed McGlunk (Bobcat Goldthwait) (he steals $8 from Mr. Sweetchuck), Chief Henry Hurst (George R. Robertson) arrives at the 16th precinct and notifies its captain, Pete Lassard (Howard Hesseman) that the precinct is the worst in the city. Nevertheless, Hurst gives him 30 days or else Lassard is out. Before he leaves, Lieutenant Mauser (Art Metrano) schemes his way into talking to Hurst. Hurst promises him the rank of captain should Lassard fail. Pete calls his brother Eric (George Gaynes) and asks him for six new recruits, as was promised by Hurst. Throughout the movie, Mauser is seen scheming with his dim-witted partner Sgt. Proctor (Lance Kinsey) as he attempts to take control of the precinct.

Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf), Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey), and Douglas Fackler (Bruce Mahler) join the 16th precinct, and some are assigned a veteran officer partner since they are rookies: Fackler has Dooley (Ed Herlihy), Mahoney has Vinnie Schtulman (Peter van Norden), and Tackleberry has Sgt. Kathleen Kirkland (Colleen Camp). At first, Tackleberry disapproves of his partner, Kirkland, because of the fact she's a woman, but they later hit it off when they compare their preference of gun choices. Tackleberry later confides to Mahoney that he may have fallen in love with her. He also confides he is still a virgin.

Mahoney and Schtulman spot a robbery at a merchant's place ("Schewchuk's Lighting" a chandelier store owned by Mr. Sweetchuck - Tim Kazurinsky), but the robbers escape through a back door before Mahoney and Schtulman even enter the shop. Eventually Fackler, Tackleberry and Kirkland arrived, each one contributing in his own characteristic way to the destruction of the store.

Mauser is ready to suspend them, but Mahoney makes a passionate plea that convinces Lassard to give them another chance. While all this is going on, Zed and his gang go shopping in a supermarket. They cause havoc as they go, leaving the store with wagon-loads without paying and Mr. Sweetchuck is already at hand in the supermarket to be further tormented this time by Zed & co.

Mauser gives Mahoney a new assignment; patrolling a tunnel, covering him and his partner with soot in the process. He gets revenge on Mauser by switching his shampoo with Tackleberry's epoxy resin solution, which glues his hands to his hair. He ends up embarrassing himself in front of the station, and has to wear a wig through the remainder of the film. On his morning drive to the station the next day, Pete Lassard spots some of Zed's men and tries to deal with them, but is eventually over-powered and spray-painted. After his rousing speech to finish what they started, the whole gang is riled up. Progress is made and most of the gang is captured (leading to 42 arrests), but Mauser informs the captain that most of the charges were dropped. Mahoney sees that Mauser did this on purpose, so as revenge has a full body cavity search done on him (the search was supposed to go to one of the arrested gangmembers).

Tackleberry goes on a date with Kirkland, where they stay out late dancing. They profess their love for each other and have sex (but removing their concealed weapons first before clothes). Pete goes to see his brother Eric at a Japanese steakhouse, and Eric comes out with an idea to hold a fair. At the night of the fair though, Zed's men trash the place. Lassard is out of a job the next day, while Mauser is promoted Captain. His first act is to remove Mahoney and Schtulman, who is quick to object to Mahoney's dismissal.

Mahoney, Schtulman, and Lassard get together in an last-ditch attempt to stop the gang. They send in Mahoney undercover to find the leader of the gang. (Everybody at this point does not know Zed's name or that he is the gang leader.) Lassard and Schtulman wire him, using duct tape and a radio microphone. Under the guise of "Jughead," he is able to infiltrate the gang and find out both their hiding spot and the name of their leader. His cover is blown however due to the radio microphone cutting into a baseball game, which leads to Lassard calling every man to the location. Mauser intervenes, but takes Fackler through the air duct. However, Fackler accidentally bumps him and pushes him inside. The police arrive and arrest every gangmember there. Zed escapes with Mahoney, but Lassard arrives and prepares to shoot Zed with a loaded pistol. Mahoney punches him down a flight of stairs, while Hooks arrests him. It is then revealed that Lassard's gun wasn't loaded, as he "never carried live ammo since '73".

The film ends with the officers attending Tackleberry and Kirkland's wedding. They drive off the Police Academy lot in the monster truck BIGFOOT #3.

The Six New 16th Precinct Officers

 * Steve Guttenberg as Officer Carey Mahoney
 * Bubba Smith as Officer Moses Hightower
 * David Graf as Officer Eugene Tackleberry
 * Michael Winslow as Officer Larvell Jones
 * Bruce Mahler as Officer Douglas Fackler
 * Marion Ramsey as Officer Laverne Hooks

The Rest Of The 16th Precinct

 * Colleen Camp as Sgt. Kathleen Kirkland
 * Howard Hesseman as Capt. Peter 'Pete' Lassard
 * Peter Van Norden as Officer Vinnie Schtulman
 * Lance Kinsey as Sgt. Proctor
 * Art Metrano as Lt/Capt. Mauser

Other

 * George Gaynes as Cmdt. Eric Lassard
 * George R. Robertson as Chief Henry J. Hurst
 * Tim Kazurinsky as Carl Sweetchuck
 * Rich Hall as Street Punk

Reception
The film received negative reviews.

Box office
The film was the 10th highest grossing film in the United States in 1985 with a total of $61,600,000 over 1,613 theaters. There was high competition in 1985 in United States theatres from films such as Back to the Future, Rocky IV, and Rambo: First Blood Part II. In the US rentals alone it grossed $27,200,000 after its release on VHS.

The film was also successful in Europe, it took in SEK 18,063,063 in Sweden alone which amounts to $2,693,005.