Kindergarten Cop

PG-13

Released Dec 21, 1990

1 hr. 51 min.

Comedy

List

54%

39 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this action-comedy, unusual circumstances find big, brawny cop John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) posing as a kindergarten teacher in order to apprehend major drug lord Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), as well as his ruthless accomplice and mother, Eleanor (Carroll Baker). While pretending to be a kid-friendly instructor, Kimble falls for pretty fellow teacher Joyce Palmieri (Penelope Ann Miller) as he battles both unruly children and dangerous bad guys.

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Critics Consensus

Arnold Schwarzenegger substitutes his action brio with some refreshingly adept comedic timing, but Kindergarten Cop is too grim for children and too cloying for adults.

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Khadija B

I found this movie to be fun and exciting. Arnold was in rare form around the children and let's not forget..."boys have a penis, girls have a vagina."😁

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

Josh G

Such a fun film with over the top scenarios, it half action half SNL sketches stringing along silliness and fun, who am I, I'm the party poopper, oh it's fun and silly an enjoyable watch. Arnold is just having fun in this one.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/26/24

Full Review

Jeffrey M

Kindergarten Cop was an amazing movie. Arnold Swartzenegger is most well known for a little movie called Terminator. Now believe it or not I have never watched Terminator before, but John Kimble would act like Terminator in my mind. I swear this guy has killed at least 20 people before. If I was to ever see Terminator, John Kimble would be him. At the beginning I was surprised he wasn't the bad guy. Anyway, when The Kimble steps into that Kindergarten class he feels much better behaved. He is at least trying to teach the kids and guess what? When they get annoying he doesn't even pull out a gun!! Guess what? He doesn't even threaten them at all!!!! That Kindergarten class really grew on Kimble. At the beginning he was a hot tempered violent stern person. At the end he became a fun, caring, and loyal person. This character development is predictable but it's a lot. This is like Ebenezer Scrooge character development and the Grinch development!! Believe it or not, this is a divorce movie. Wait what?! A movie like Kindergarten Cop is a divorce movie?! Well it is. There's one side to this movie which is light hearted and funny and there's another side which deals with a serious topic like divorce and is a little more deep. This movie is better as a light hearted comedy, but I like how it tried to address more serious topics. This movie has two themes. #1 is that someone even younger than you can enlighten you and change your life. #2 is that even when you parents don't love each other that doesn't mean that they don't love you. Even though this movie has R-rated potty humor ( you know the line ), it still has serious themes. You could say that this movie doesn't deserve its bad rating ( 51%🍀 54%🍿) and that it is underrated, but I like these ratings for this movie. This movie is underrated, but I think the rating fit this movie. These rating really tell you that this movie can be super light hearted and grim at the same time. If this movie had really good ratings people would have high expectations for this movie, making it even more of an outcast then it is now. Then again, some people might get drawn away because of the bad ratings. If there's a movie that has bad ratings on Rotten Tomatoes it doesn't always mean it's bad. Sometimes people compare it to other really good movies and sometimes that movie pales in comparison to the other movie. But that doesn't mean it's bad. People also might think that the movie doesn't have enough depth and is too light hearted. Well some movie are just made like that. When they are, you have to appreciate it. What a good movie. I give this movie a 78%🍅.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

Genesis V

IT IS A GOOD MOVIE BUT THERE ARE SOME PARTS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE MATTURE BUT ONCE YPU PASS THOSE PARTS IT CAN BE A RIOT ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING I RECOMEND I LIKE THE MOVIE SO MUCH I BOUGHT THE VHS TAPE NOT TO LONG AGO. PERFECT FOR ARNOLD FANS ONE OF THE FIRST ARNOLD MOVIES I HAD SEEN. :]

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Forged S

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've seen it, probably somewhere in the triple digits. Yet, despite it's age, the movie has held up better than most over the years. Directed by Ivan Reitman of Ghostbusters fame, this movie is one of the most infinitly quotable movies ever filmed, even if the source has long since been forgotten. But this isn't JUST a movie about a cop going undercover as a kindergarten teacher. It goes deeper than that. Eagle-eyed viewers will catch the the numerous instances of foreshadowing or the references to Arnold Schwarzenegger's sizable body of work as an action star. Plus, how can we ignore composer Randy Edelman's score? Every time the main theme starts playing I get emotional.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Louis M

A classic 90's Arnie action- predictable but enjoyable fun although at times uncomfortable themes are discussed in an otherwise family movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

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Ivan Reitman

Director

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Detective John Kimble

Penelope Ann Miller

Joyce Palmieri

Pamela Reed

Detective Phoebe O'Hara

Linda Hunt

Miss Schlowski

Richard Tyson

Cullen Crisp, Sr.

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Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Kids on the Plane

1:57

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Who Is Your Daddy?

2:00

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - They're Horrible

1:56

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Boys Have a Penis

2:41

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Shut Up!

2:36

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - You Belong to Me!

1:27

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - It's Not a Tumor!

0:46

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Hitting Back

2:38

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - Saving Dominic

2:59

Kindergarten Cop: Official Clip - The Party Pooper

3:08

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

A mish-mash of violence, psycho-drama and lukewarm kiddie comedy.

Sep 26, 2007

Full Review

Kim Voynar

Empire Magazine

With a heart of purest mush, Kindergarten Cop still manages to be generally entertaining.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 26, 2007

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Kindergarten Cop was one of Schwarzenegger's more diverse roles to date, showcasing the actor's talent in more than just action sequences.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 5, 2024

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The film, rather insubstantial that it almost doesn't exist, distracted me for an hour and a half. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 1, 2022

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an erratically-paced yet mostly enjoyable comedy...

Rated: 3/4

Aug 13, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this action-comedy, unusual circumstances find big, brawny cop John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) posing as a kindergarten teacher in order to apprehend major drug lord Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson), as well as his ruthless accomplice and mother, Eleanor (Carroll Baker). While pretending to be a kid-friendly instructor, Kimble falls for pretty fellow teacher Joyce Palmieri (Penelope Ann Miller) as he battles both unruly children and dangerous bad guys.

Director: Ivan Reitman
Executive Producer: Michael C. Gross, Joe Medjuck
Screenwriter: Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod, Timothy Hyde Harris
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 21, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $88.6M
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR

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