Appreciation: Ivan Reitman was the genial maestro of American movie comedy

A few weeks ago, during one of those late nights when YouTube becomes a rabbit hole for the sleep-deprived, I found myself seeking out random clips from, of all things, "Kindergarten Cop." That 1990 action-comedy directed by Ivan Reitman, who died this weekend at 75, is not what I'd call a personal favorite, though I couldn't deny (or, for that matter, explain) its oddly persistent hold on my memory.

If recollection serves, I was only 8 when I first saw Schwarzenegger yell "SHUUUUUT UUUUUPPP!!!" at a class of unruly tots, an inauspicious start to possibly the least convincing undercover investigation in the history of the LAPD. Now, idly revisiting that and other scenes