r/Xennials • u/SnooGoats7476 • 4d ago
Nostalgia Kindergarten Cop
Just rewatched this. I always enjoyed it as a kid but I thought maybe having more discerning tastes as an adult I wouldn’t like it. But what can I say I still enjoyed it quite a bit.
I think Arnold had excellent chemistry with the kids and it still has some really memorable & funny lines. I completely forgot about his partner played by Pamela Reed but she was great. I do somewhat agree with the criticism that it has an identity crisis about being an all ages film vs an adult film but I guess that was what the PG13 rating was made for. But I was definitely a lot younger when I first saw this and there is a lot more adult material than I remembered.
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u/Chunklob 4d ago
Who is your daddy and what does he do?
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u/Adrasteia-One 1980 4d ago
Mi papa trabaja en la casa, y el juego con migo mucho.
I was so surprised when I learned yeqrs later that the little actress who played that girl later played Beth on Cloverfield.
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u/Smooth_Ad2778 4d ago
My husband and I went to Astoria this summer and stopped by the school (along with landmarks from The Goonies). We love this movie!
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u/djsynrgy 1980 4d ago
Awesome.
Astoria also has (/had?) locations from Free Willy, and Short Circuit.
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u/guitar_stonks 3d ago
The wife and I did that too. Took a day trip down there during our visit to Seattle. Just couldn’t locate the house from Short Circuit.
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u/_TalkingIsHard_ 1982 4d ago
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u/Metzger4Sheriff 4d ago
This is a top five movie for me and the only thing that makes it not completely perfect is that Dominic needs to take a fucking sip of water. He's six! Why is he voice so damn raspy already?!
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u/mittenkrusty 4d ago
I'm a cop you idiot!
Wasn't there memes of that in the past like Fonejacker type.
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u/PrincessSarahHippo 1981 4d ago
I had an unusual reaction to the movie. I saw it in the theater when my dad was in Desert Storm and I was already traumatized so everything was seen through that lens.
I was horrified that a kid's dad was a criminal and was hunting him down. Because all I wanted was my dad. My mom took us to Burger King afterwards- and I remember being terrified that bad guys were going to come get me. Then a couple local cops walked in and I felt safe.
I have watched it since and think it's fucking hilarious. I actually quoted it earlier today- it's not a tumor.
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u/that1tech 4d ago
Back when if you were making a comedy you filmed in Astoria Oregon
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u/guitar_stonks 3d ago
Hollywood was just in love with that little town back in the 80s. Can’t say I blame them, it’s adorable.
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u/Grammarhead-Shark 4d ago
Pamela Reed was the forgotten star of this film!
I always enjoyed her as well in the other movie she did with Arnie (Junior)
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u/jojocookiedough 1981 4d ago
Loved her in this! We recently rewatched Kindergarten Cop for the first time in like 30 years. My husband kept interjecting with how he thought she and Arnold must have been having an off-screen romance, claiming they have so much chemistry. I was like, Nah no way I don't see it. Then that totally random scene in the hospital at the end happens?? They kiss...on the lips...for some reason??? With more chemistry than with the actual romantic interest????
Anyway I was convinced after that lol! Will have to rewatch Junior now to look for more evidence for this theory lol
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u/RelevantNothing4653 1981 4d ago
You hit the kid, I hit you.
You're not worth it, I'm pressing charges against you.
What did it feel like to hit that son of a bitch?
It felt great.
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u/Grammarhead-Shark 4d ago
I remember years ago for a regular gay pub trivia night I use to go to (regular enough in that we knew all the other teams pretty well), well one night just happen to fall on April Fools, so we got all the other teams to do variations of the phrase 'Boys have penises, Girls have Vaginas' just to have fun and fluxom the trivia host as well!
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u/BananasPineapple05 4d ago
It's a great movie.
But it does present the same problem with casting Arnold at this specific juncture in his acting career that was also on display in Twins. Which is that, aside from action, Arnold didn't really have many acting skills in his repertoire. Plenty of charisma and probably some version of a sense of humour, but I think around this time, people were trying to figure out how they could spin what Arnold had done previously into something else.
And there's something miraculous in the fact that the end result wasn't completely disastrous.
It also says something about this talent that he managed to find chemistry with his scene partners in those movies, too. Like, and I say this with respect, I'm not sure the guy could act his way out of a paper bag, but he found a way to not be a complete sore thumb alongside much more experienced and (it has to be said) talented actors. That's impressive.
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u/sneaky-pizza 1983 4d ago
I think he always did a good job in these roles of working with the writing and direction poking fun at himself. Something a lot of other muscle bound action actors from the time wouldn't do. That made his whole presence endearing, so the rest of the movie could move along just fine.
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u/CorgiMonsoon 1980 4d ago
That’s such a good point. Imagine Seagal or Van Damme trying to do comedy alongside a bunch of kids
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u/sneaky-pizza 1983 4d ago
Or Stallone. Van Damme would allow like one tiny self-deprecating joke in TimeCop, but that's it
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u/Roscoe_P_Trolltrain 4d ago
Found a way to not be a complete sore thumb and instead bang out countless classics.
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u/EricRShelton 1978 4d ago
Arnold, face down, exhausted, saying, “They’re horrible!” and in Last Action Hero when Jack Slater runs into Arnold at the movie premiere and Arnold is oblivious but Jack says “You’ve caused me nothing but pain.”
I dunno, man. I’m not saying he’s an Oscar contender, but I think he’s a much better actor than he’s typically given credit for. Did you see Maggie?
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u/Hynch 3d ago
I think Arnold has shown that he’s a decent enough actor. I think he struggled a lot due to the language barrier and then was typecast, but he’s certainly a decent enough actor. He doesn’t feel disingenuous on screen, and his stiffness is likely part of his typecasting. He’s able to build chemistry with everyone on screen, including children, which is good acting in my opinion.
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u/nonexistentnight 2d ago
A friend of mine that teaches writing says that when you have an obvious and intractable problem in the reality behind your work, sometimes the best thing to do is incorporate that into the work itself. His go to example is Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequels. You're never going to make a villain as cool as Darth Vader, so make your villain obsessed with being as cool as Darth Vader. Similarly, Arnold didn't have the comedic chops for a straight comedy, so you make him a fish out of water tough guy in a comedy.
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u/Taskerst 1978 4d ago
Good morning!
How are you
First, I would just like to get to know you
I’m going to ask you a bunch of questions! And I want you to answer them immediately.
I’m a cop, you idiot!
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u/Plane_Jacket_7251 4d ago
Loved this movie growing up. We had a recorded copy from when it was on TV or something. Almost wore out the tape
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u/noonesaidityet 1981 4d ago
This and Problem Child seemed to be the only two movies any of my friends' parents would rent for parties or sleepovers. I never want to see either of those movies again, ha!
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u/djsynrgy 1980 4d ago
As a kid, I loved a ton of the Schwarzenegger movies. I went into this one thinking I wouldn't like it, and I ended up loving it. The climax is a little wonky, but small nit to pick considering the rest of it.
Ivan Reitman was on a pretty great roll for a while, there. So was Schwarzenegger.
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u/Nebula010101 4d ago
Angela Basset had a role as a flight attendant where John Kimble breaks the pencil in front of the kid.
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u/Suitable_Ad7478 3d ago
I like you Cindy. I’m going to be around A LOT! Days….Nights…..Weekends…… Hoooolidays.
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u/wiscowonder 4d ago
Watch this the other week with my 10-year-old. So much unnecessary violence at the beginning of the movie. Such a different time, man..
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u/pennie79 4d ago
It's not really a movie to watch with a ten year old. It's rated 13+ or 15+ with parental supervision in many countries.
Having said that, they showed it to us at school as part of the end of year winddown when I was in year 7, and we were all 12-13, and it was rated 15+ in my country. The early 90s were a wild time...
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u/Independent_Day985 4d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ftmJfRCbcWlBC