FELONIOUS FILM

Dum-de-dum-dum

Dum-de-dumb!-dumb!-dumb!

The critics took their clubs to “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol.” Note the headlines:

“THE BADGE OF SHAME”--USA Today.

“ARE YOU 10? YOU’LL PROBABLY LAUGH”--Orange County Register.

“HALT! ARREST THAT MOVIE”--S.F. Chronicle.

Plus these comments:

“The screenplay got rejected by a garbage disposal and they couldn’t figure out anything to do with it except make a movie--quick”--Peter Stack, Chronicle.

“Carries the banner of tasteless humor to new heights of insipidness”--James Greenburg, Daily Variety.

Some critics shrugged it off pretty good-naturedly, like . . . “To criticize the ‘Police Academy’ movies is like saying you get more laughs from Oscar Wilde than from a whoopie cushion”--John H. Richardson, L.A. Daily News.

At least one critic gave it what amounts to a rave: “ ‘Academy’ fans are not likely to be disappointed. . . . Production values are first-rate”--Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter.

Star Steve Guttenberg took a few shots for ambling (allegedly) through the role. Declared the USA Today’s Mike Clark, Guttenberg “seems really bored this time--though admittedly with him it’s hard to tell. You can’t blame him for taking the money, but it’s worth noting that Burt Reynolds kept taking it--and now wonders why his career sank like an anvil in quicksand.”

Guttenberg reportedly took well over $1 million for the role and walked, not ran.

Of course, the public doesn’t always agree with the scribblers. Proof: The folks at Warner Bros. did an arresting $8.5 million in ticket sales during the first weekend.

Sounds like a lot of somebodies got robbed. Someone call a cop!