Super Troopers 2
3/4
Starring: Steve Lemme, Eric Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan, Brian Cox, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Lowe
Rated R for Crude Sexual Content and Language Throughout, Drug Material and Some Graphic Nudity
"Super Troopers," the breakout hit of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, was a cult classic. The film was a modest success in theaters but did great business on video and DVD. That doesn't surprise me. This is the kind of movie that's best enjoyed with a bunch of friends (and perhaps some mind-altering substances) where you can laugh out loud together and say the lines as the characters do. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel, but the film remained elusive. Now, seventeen years later and with the help of crowdfunding, the second adventure of Vermont's worst police squad has hit theaters. It's not as good as the original, but it contains enough laughs to be worth a trip to the theater.
The plot, as is befitting for a sketch comedy team, is thin and given no more attention than absolutely necessary. The crew, which consists of Mac (Lemme), Rabbit (Stolhanske), Thorny (Chandrasekhar), Foster (Soter) and Favre (Heffernan), has been disgraced ever since what is known as "the Fred Savage incident" (don't ask...the movie tells all). But Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) offers them a chance for redemption. Apparently, the border between the US and Canada was wrongly drawn, and a part of Canada is actually a part of the USA. The area needs a temporary police crew, and Jessman thinks the boys are perfect for the job. And if they don't screw up, they can keep their jobs permanently. Needless to say, this won't be easy, especially after Rabbit falls for the pretty cultural liaison Genevieve (Chriqui) and they discover a drug-running scheme.
With a comedy like this, normal qualifiers such as plot, acting, and character development are irrelevant. The only question of importance is this: did I laugh? The answer is yes. The humor isn't as consistent as in the original (sometimes the jokes run on too long, or they're simply not as funny as Broken Lizard thinks they are), but I laughed enough that I can easily recommend the film.
People have sometimes criticized me for being too politically correct or disliking stupid humor because I pick on Seth Rogen so much. That's not only untrue but it's also unfair. Witness my appreciation of the "Bill and Ted" movies. The difference between Seth Rogen and Broken Lizard (for example) goes to the mechanics of comedy. I'll explain: in "This is the End," Seth and his buddies riff on who is "not" going to rape Emma Watson, who has taken refuge at James Franco's house during the apocalypse. In "Super Troopers 2," there is a running gag where the fat, boorish Favre makes increasingly ridiculous bets with Rabbit about who is going to sleep with Genevieve. In the Seth Rogen movie, the joke is that these guys are so afraid of women that they think that any interaction is going to be considered hostile. Watson is treated as a sex object where using rape as a euphemism for sex. There's no comic twist or turn to the joke. It's just misogyny. In "Super Troopers 2," the joke is that Favre is so stupid that he is setting himself up for painful failure by making a bet that he cannot possibly win. See the difference?
The Broken Lizard guys sure do. Unlike Seth Rogen and his buddies, these guys are actually funny. They know the difference between crude and funny and what is simply offensive. The guys have been together since they were in a fraternity at Colgate University (that alone should tell you who the target audience for this movie is), and they know how to play off each other well. Like with Seth Rogen and his crew, there's clearly a lot of improvisation going on here. But unlike Rogen, they don't belabor the jokes. They know that too many riffs and dawdling can run a potentially funny scene into the ground. They make the joke and move on. It also helps that no one is above sacrificing their dignity to get a laugh. Not even a legitimate movie actor like Brian Cox.
"Super Troopers" isn't a perfect film, but it contains many moments of truly inspired comedy. Some scenes that are destined for internet fame involve a bear and an outhouse, and when the guys impersonate Canadian Mounties. Nothing is off limits for these guys, who delight in parodying the Canadians and the Americans.
Good comedies are rare. Rarer still are sequels that can live up to their predecessors. "Super Troopers 2" does that.
Starring: Steve Lemme, Eric Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan, Brian Cox, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Lowe
Rated R for Crude Sexual Content and Language Throughout, Drug Material and Some Graphic Nudity
"Super Troopers," the breakout hit of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, was a cult classic. The film was a modest success in theaters but did great business on video and DVD. That doesn't surprise me. This is the kind of movie that's best enjoyed with a bunch of friends (and perhaps some mind-altering substances) where you can laugh out loud together and say the lines as the characters do. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel, but the film remained elusive. Now, seventeen years later and with the help of crowdfunding, the second adventure of Vermont's worst police squad has hit theaters. It's not as good as the original, but it contains enough laughs to be worth a trip to the theater.
The plot, as is befitting for a sketch comedy team, is thin and given no more attention than absolutely necessary. The crew, which consists of Mac (Lemme), Rabbit (Stolhanske), Thorny (Chandrasekhar), Foster (Soter) and Favre (Heffernan), has been disgraced ever since what is known as "the Fred Savage incident" (don't ask...the movie tells all). But Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) offers them a chance for redemption. Apparently, the border between the US and Canada was wrongly drawn, and a part of Canada is actually a part of the USA. The area needs a temporary police crew, and Jessman thinks the boys are perfect for the job. And if they don't screw up, they can keep their jobs permanently. Needless to say, this won't be easy, especially after Rabbit falls for the pretty cultural liaison Genevieve (Chriqui) and they discover a drug-running scheme.
With a comedy like this, normal qualifiers such as plot, acting, and character development are irrelevant. The only question of importance is this: did I laugh? The answer is yes. The humor isn't as consistent as in the original (sometimes the jokes run on too long, or they're simply not as funny as Broken Lizard thinks they are), but I laughed enough that I can easily recommend the film.
People have sometimes criticized me for being too politically correct or disliking stupid humor because I pick on Seth Rogen so much. That's not only untrue but it's also unfair. Witness my appreciation of the "Bill and Ted" movies. The difference between Seth Rogen and Broken Lizard (for example) goes to the mechanics of comedy. I'll explain: in "This is the End," Seth and his buddies riff on who is "not" going to rape Emma Watson, who has taken refuge at James Franco's house during the apocalypse. In "Super Troopers 2," there is a running gag where the fat, boorish Favre makes increasingly ridiculous bets with Rabbit about who is going to sleep with Genevieve. In the Seth Rogen movie, the joke is that these guys are so afraid of women that they think that any interaction is going to be considered hostile. Watson is treated as a sex object where using rape as a euphemism for sex. There's no comic twist or turn to the joke. It's just misogyny. In "Super Troopers 2," the joke is that Favre is so stupid that he is setting himself up for painful failure by making a bet that he cannot possibly win. See the difference?
The Broken Lizard guys sure do. Unlike Seth Rogen and his buddies, these guys are actually funny. They know the difference between crude and funny and what is simply offensive. The guys have been together since they were in a fraternity at Colgate University (that alone should tell you who the target audience for this movie is), and they know how to play off each other well. Like with Seth Rogen and his crew, there's clearly a lot of improvisation going on here. But unlike Rogen, they don't belabor the jokes. They know that too many riffs and dawdling can run a potentially funny scene into the ground. They make the joke and move on. It also helps that no one is above sacrificing their dignity to get a laugh. Not even a legitimate movie actor like Brian Cox.
"Super Troopers" isn't a perfect film, but it contains many moments of truly inspired comedy. Some scenes that are destined for internet fame involve a bear and an outhouse, and when the guys impersonate Canadian Mounties. Nothing is off limits for these guys, who delight in parodying the Canadians and the Americans.
Good comedies are rare. Rarer still are sequels that can live up to their predecessors. "Super Troopers 2" does that.
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