The final part of the ‘Vice Academy’ franchise, and mediocrity is on the run once again. I have to give this entry at least SOME credit, because they actually bothered to at least TRY and go back to the series roots. Bringing our girls Candy and Traci back to the forefront of proceedings and centring the core plot around them trying to solve (or rather resolve) a crime! That crime specifically being that, while undergoing some basic financial work for the Vice Squad. a group of dressed up female bank robbers storm the place and steal over 400k in unmarked bills.

It transpires that these bank robbers are in fact 3 strippers from a nearby club, who robbed the bank with the ultimate plan being to leave the stripping life and live a little. Unfortunately, due to several confusing altercations at the bank, Candy and Traci find THEMSELVES under the microscope as alleged perps in the robbery! Forcing them to try and find as much evidence as they can to clear their name, before they both end up in the most dreaded circumstance a straight woman can find themselves in (apparently)…a women’s prison!

Now to this films credit, I will say that this is probably the most coherent three act plot the series has had since ‘Vice Academy 2’ In fact, out of all the films i’ve watched in this series. If you asked me which one i’d recommend watching after part 2. This one would probably be it. But what it makes up for in more solid structuring it neglects in almost every other aspect unfortunately.

The script itself isnt really all that different from the last two movies. As mentioned the foundation of the script is a LOT more solid than previous entries. they actually have a 3 act plot that transitions fairly nicely between acts. the sub 90 minute runtime really works in this films favour, and the humour actually feels a little better in this one than in the last few entries. It starts relatively strong, sags a bit in the middle and ends…well; it ends about as well as ‘Vice Academy 6’ could end all things considered.

However; its not all relative praise here. theres a LOT of exposition in this thing. Meandering exposition at that. and while I can handle a bit of added context a lot of this films runtime feels very filler-ey. and while I will say that this entry is more endearing that parts 4 and 5. that chasm of dirth did leave me clock watching and my attention going elsewhere once we hit the half hour mark.

Equally; while all the above improvements DO improve the viewing experience. They are somewhat minor shifts here and there. There isnt a seismic difference between the quality of this entry and the last one. I just personally think it holds its cards a little better.

The characters are all a bit beige here, again we’re missing that zany over the top-ness that made the first couple of movies a bit more interesting. And instead; its just air head humour for the most part. When it works, it works. but they’ve been flogging that dead horse now for 3 movies and by this point…its old.

As with the other entries, the directions kind of mid. Nothing substantial or ‘out there’, nothing that made me really recognise this as a Rick Sloan movie. its just kind of by the numbers, and while I appreciate the more vibrant use of colour these last couple of films have had. Its nothing to write home about. Also; while im not a big T&A guy (I dont really consider it a selling point) theres a definite lack of it here. Which again, just kind of left me wondering who this movie was really even for.

The cine is much the same. I dont have anything to add really other than its sharp, crisp and in focus (which couldnt be said for the last two movies which frequently went ‘soft’ for several scenes at a time). compositions okay, but its all a bit bland. Again; nothing that made me sit up and take attention, and nothing that made me think anyone here was trying to do anything with this entry other than get it in the can.

The performances are, for this series, a bit by the numbers. A kind of restrained zany-ness that never really pays off or manifests into anything other than what feels like a group of people thinking they’re playing ‘big’ when in fact they come across as feeling a bit awkward to do so. Not terrible, but by no means great. its a low(ish) quality offering.

And the soundtrack? unmemorable honestly; If I didnt know any better, i’d have assumed they just reused the score from Part 5. synthy gubbins and not much else. Kind of ‘Meh’.

In a way, I feel like its a shame that they ended things on ‘Vice Academy Part 6’ for a couple of reasons. Not only were they only one film off matching the ‘Police Academy’ series for sequels (the girls going to ‘Belarus’ to fight for sex workers autonomy against a dollar tree version of Christopher lee would have been worth the price of admission) But also because I do feel like this entry, while a bit stalled, DID see some improvements on the bones of the beast. Something that I think could have maybe continued on to another entry or two.

Do I think Vice Academy 6 is ‘must see’? No. Do I think its worth catching if you enjoyed the first couple? Yeah. Sure. Is the franchise as a whole worth watching? Only if your best friends with Jack Daniels.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/vice-academy-part-6/