Film

Feds!

Two mismatched women navigate the rigours of FBI training in this 1988 comedy. One's a natural fighter, the other a brilliant analyst—neither fits the mold of a federal agent. It's broad, silly, and exactly as slight as it sounds, but there's genuine warmth in watching them prop each other up through gruelling physical and academic challenges.

TMDb rating2.9

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Police Academy1984

The original template for this exact formula: misfits in uniform learning to work as a team. It's looser and funnier, with better comic timing and actual chemistry between its leads.

But The humour is aggressively 1980s and doesn't always land. Some of the jokes feel dated even by contemporary standards.

Police Academy poster

Private Benjamin1980

Goldie Hawn as a spoiled woman transformed by military training. It finds real pathos alongside the comedy, and the culture clash has actual bite without ever turning mean.

But It's considerably more sentimental than you might want from a comedy about boot camp. The soft centre works, but only if you're in the mood for it.

Private Benjamin poster

Stripes1981

Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in the army. The chemistry is incomparable, the humour is sharper, and it understands that the best comedy comes from character, not just premise.

But It's longer and more ambitious than *Feds!*, which means watching this will make you acutely aware of what the other film is missing.

Stripes poster

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Swing Shift1984

Both films center on women forming meaningful partnerships while learning unfamiliar skills in male-dominated institutions, but *Swing Shift* trusts sentiment and history where *Feds!* leans entirely on jokes.

Goldie Hawn and Christine Lamet as factory workers forming an unlikely bond during WWII. It has the same earnest belief in female friendship, but grounds it in a real historical moment that gives the comedy actual weight.

But It's much more dramatic than funny. Watching this will remind you that the tone *Feds!* reaches for—warmth mixed with comedy—is genuinely hard to sustain.

Swing Shift poster
More like this (8)

Nine to Five1980

Women teaming up against institutional systems that weren't built for them. It's got broader comedy, but it's grounded in genuine grievances that make the jokes land harder.

But It's a revenge fantasy more than a character study. If you're looking for the kind of warmth *Feds!* offers, this swings differently.

Nine to Five poster

Coming Soon1999

A lighter film about young women bonding through a shared project. It has that same generous spirit toward its characters and actual affection for their friendship.

But It's genuinely slight. The plot is barely there, and the comedy relies almost entirely on charm and ensemble rapport.

Coming Soon poster

Ghostbusters II1989

Released the year after *Feds!*, it has a similar ensemble comedy energy and the same willingness to be silly without apologizing for it.

But It's a sequel chasing the original's lightning. The formula shows, and it knows it. Much of the humour is in-group callback rather than fresh.

Ghostbusters II poster

Three O'Clock High1987

A comedy built around the idea of two people who shouldn't be friends learning to depend on each other. It's got real stakes and genuine affection for its characters.

But It's a high school comedy that takes its premise quite seriously. The tone is uneven if you're expecting pure laughs.

Three O'Clock High poster

Weekend at Bernie's1989

Two ordinary people in an absurd situation, learning teamwork the hard way. It commits fully to its premise and has a sweetness that surprises you.

But The humour is built on a corpse. If that concept doesn't appeal to you immediately, nothing in the film will change your mind.

Weekend at Bernie's poster

The Sure Thing1985

A road movie about two people who start at odds and discover they genuinely like each other. The chemistry is real and the script trusts the audience to care about the relationship.

But It's a romance first and a comedy second. If you're looking for big laughs, you're shopping in the wrong section.

The Sure Thing poster

Red Sonja1985

De Mornay plays the same archetype—a woman proving herself in a physical domain—but here it's fantasy instead of federal bureaucracy, which somehow makes the whole thing more honest about what it is.

An action-comedy with Rebecca De Mornay (the lead in *Feds!*) as a warrior learning to fight. It's trashy sword-and-sorcery nonsense, but it has real fun with the absurdity.

But It's genuinely bad in ways that require patience. If you're not willing to meet it halfway, you'll spend the runtime frustrated rather than entertained.

Red Sonja poster

Gung Ho1986

Like *Feds!*, it's about people from different worlds being forced together and discovering they need each other to succeed, but it extends that idea to national and corporate identity instead of just personality types.

A workplace comedy about American and Japanese workers learning each other's methods. It's broad and occasionally cringe, but genuinely interested in culture clash as a source of both comedy and mutual respect.

But Some jokes have aged very poorly. The cultural stereotyping is the humour, which means some scenes will make you wince rather than laugh.

Gung Ho poster

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