History YMMV / KindergartenCop

** Creator/JasonReitman plays another student, as does one of his sisters.

* UncertainAudience: One of the main issues with the movie is that the concept and story as a whole is just a little too silly to be considered an "adult" film but a lot of the actual content is way too mature for it to be a family film that kids should be seeing.

* MemeticMutation: Several lines from the film--notably "Stop whining!" and "Who is your daddy and what does he do?" among others--found themselves on an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard used by various radio morning shows for (likely fake) prank calls in the late nineties and early aughts, contributing to their memetic status. "It's not a tumor!" is another one that gets quoted a lot.

* HarsherInHindsight: Richard Tyson playing a criminal BigBad who is unable to reunite with his family because of his troubled background and trying to reach out to them despite it being against their wishes of being left alone is more cringing considering recently in real-life, Tyson for busted for harassment and boozing in Mobile, Alabama.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Anytime we see John bonding with the kindergarteners and Dominic, when he's not in usual badass HollywoodActionHero mode and kicking bad guy butt (or in badass action guy mode and kicking any guy's butt if you also count ''Film/TheTerminator'' where Arnold played the BigBad). However, Arnold's time using his action guy mode in a heartwarming moment is when he confront one of the kindergarteners' parents who is an AbusiveDad, [[BadassTeacher beats him up and press charges against him]].
* MemeticMutation: Several lines from the film-- notably "Stop whining!" and "Who is your daddy and what does he do?" among others-- found themselves on an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard used by various radio morning shows for (likely fake) prank calls in the late 90s and early aughts, contributing to their memetic status. "It's not a tumor!" is another one that gets quoted a lot.

** Then, of course there’s Arnold [[BigShutUp screaming shut up]]. Whether it be in video or gif form, expect it to pop up when somebody gets annoyed.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Tough guy Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger finds himself out of his depth when he has to deal with a class of adorable children: a heartwarming family comedy, right? Well, not really. Between the crackhouse shoot-out that introduces Kimble in all his badass glory, to an abusive father getting punched by the hero, to the blue-lipped junkie cold on the slab after being spiked by the villain, to Kimble dreaming of Crisp shooting him, to O'Hara being caught having noisy sex with her fiancé, to Crisp holding his own five year old son hostage, to Crisp getting shot three times in the chest, to Kimble bleeding out in the corner of a bathroom as Eleanor Crisp demands her grandson, the film is definitely not for children. When they reviewed the film on their show, Series/SiskelAndEbert urged parents to take the PG-13 rating seriously.

** Then, of course there’s Arnold [[BigShutUp screaming shut up]]. Whether it be in video or gif form, it always pops up when somebody gets annoyed.

* JerkassWoobie: Barely, but Crisp towards the end could be considered this. He seriously loves his son and the look on his face shows authentic joy when he confronts him and real sadness when his son doesn't recognize him, leading to a grief-stricken VillainousBreakdown. Yeah, he takes him as a hostage, but he could have just bluffed, which made his death an AlasPoorVillain moment for him.

* MisaimedFandom: One scene in particular, in which a young boy proclaims "[[FromTheMouthsOfBabes boys have a penis and girls have a vagina]]," has become a [[https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1067488660575186949 minor political]] [[https://twitter.com/search?q=kindergarten%20cop%20trans&src=typd meme]] used as a "logical" refutation of scientific arguments recognizing the validity of UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} and non-binary identities. This, of course, ignores the fact that the kids are frequently shown to not be particularly brilliant logical minds (e.g. assuming Kimble's headache is a sign of a tumor), to say nothing of the absurdity of recognizing a fictional child's words as equivalent to peer-reviewed scientific journals.

** Creator/JasonReitman himself plays another student. So does one of his sisters.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Anytime we see John bonding with the kindergarteners and Dominic, when he's not in usual badass HollywoodActionHero mode and kicking bad guy butt (or in badass action guy mode and kicking any guy's butt if you also count ''Film/TheTerminator'' where Arnold played the BigBad). However, Arnold's time using his action guy mode in a heartwarming moment is when he confront one of the kindergarteners' parents who is an AbusiveDad, [[BadassTeacher beats him up and press charges against him]].
* HeReallyCanAct: Many critics thought this way about Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger in this film.

** Kimble's nightmare. He dreams during the kids' nap-time while he's grading papers beside the window, Cullen Crisp slides into frame just outside to ominous music and slowly pulls a gun on Kimble who can only scream in silence before Cullen fires.

%%* NarmCharm: Arnold's BigShutUp during his first day at school.
%%* NightmareFuel: The big fire and shootout climax is pretty damn intense.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The movie was cut for its British cinema release to get a 12 rating; it's also been cut for airings on Creator/{{ITV}} to a PG version for families (although the complete version - rated 15 - is available on DVD and Blu-ray).
** US TV airings cut the two uses of "son-of-a-bitch" to "SOB" and "stupid jerk".

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The movie was cut for its British cinema release to get a 12 rating; it's also been cut for airings on {{ITV}} to a PG version for families (although the complete version - rated 15 - is available on DVD and Blu-ray).

* MemeticMutation: Several lines from the film-- notably "It's not a tumor!" and "Who is your daddy and what does he do?" among others-- found themselves on an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard used by various radio morning shows for (likely fake) prank calls in the late 90s and early aughts, contributing to their memetic status.

* MemeticMutation: Oh, where to begin?
** IT'S NOT A [[strike:TUMOR]] TOOMAH.
*** EET'S AH FYHEREHT.
** Now I want to ask you a bunch of questions... and I want to have them answered ''IMMEDIATELY''...
** ''HOO iz yaw DAA-DEE... and wat duzzy DOO?''
** "Ahr deez yuhr lunches? You mean ya eat udduh people's lunches? '''STOP IT!'''"
** I'M DETECTIVE JOHN KIMBLE!
*** I'M A COP YOU IDIOT!
** THERE IS NO BATHROOM!
** TO DE CAHPET!
*** '''TAKE IT ''BACK''!'''
*** DAAAAAAAMN!
** Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.
*** Thanks for da tip.
** STOP WHINING!
** Two words: '''''[[BigShutUp SHUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!!!!]]'''''
* NarmCharm: Arnold's BigShutUp during his first day at school.
* NightmareFuel: The big fire and shootout climax is pretty damn intense.
* WhatAnIdiot: Kimble undercover with his own, real name.

* OffscreenVillainy: The abusive father, though he has enough of a reputation that John gets away with beating him.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Tough guy Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger finds himself out of his depth when he has to deal with a class of adorable children: a heartwarming family comedy, right? Well, not really. Between the crackhouse shoot-out that introduces Kimble in all his badass glory, to an abusive father getting punched by the hero, to the blue-lipped junkie cold on the slab after being spiked by the villain, to Kimble dreaming of Crisp shooting him, to O'Hara being caught having noisy sex with her fiancé, to Crisp holding his own five year old son hostage, to Crisp getting shot three times in the chest, to Kimble bleeding out in the corner of a bathroom as Eleanor Crisp demands her grandson, the film is definitely not for children. When they reviewed the film on their show, Series/SiskelAndEbert urged parents to take the PG-13 rating seriously.

** Also the abusive father [[BullyingADragon trying to punch]] Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.

** Also the abusive father [[BullyingADragon trying to punch]] ArnoldSchwarzenegger.