Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
100 minutes
Average, forgettable comedy that’s worth watching for curiosity value because Brian Cox is in it.
Super Troopers is not, by any means, the worst comedy you’ll see this year. However, it’s hampered by the fact that it’s written and performed by a not-too-hilarious “comedy troupe” named Broken Lizard (think: Monty Python wannabes) who are completely unknown in this country.
Contraband And Sexual Favours
The obvious inspiration for the film is the frat-boy style comedy of Animal House and the Police Academy films. The five-man group play Vermont state troopers, who spend their time playing ‘wacky’ pranks on each other, busting teenage dope smokers (no prizes for guessing what happens to the contraband), getting sexual favours from pulled-over traffic violators and sparring with the local police force.
Eventually there’s a plot of sorts involving drugs, murder and the fact that their department may be forced to close, but really the film’s just an excuse for a few flimsy gags.
The saving grace of the film is that Brian Cox plays the group’s captain and gets to indulge in most un-Brian Cox-like behaviour. The sheer ‘But…but…that’s BRIAN COX!’ factor is enough to lift the film into watchable territory. There’s also good comic support from Daniel Von Bargen, who may be familiar to TV viewers as Spengler from Malcolm In The Middle.
Chicken Fuckers
The troupe themselves are a fairly nondescript bunch, with only the fat, stupid one (Kevin Heffernan as Farva) standing out, although Token Babe Marisa Coughlan is pleasingly easy on the eye. Still, you have to admire a film that credits ‘Chicken Fuckers 1 & 2’ in the cast list…
To be fair, it’s not as awful as the above suggests. There’s a decent mix of visual gags, wordplay and gross-out humour, and it doesn’t over-do the latter like most desperate teen comedies these days.
It is, however, almost entirely forgettable and doesn’t have any major set-pieces like, say, the hair-gel gag in There’s Something About Mary or the pie-shagging scene in American Pie.
Mindless But Fun
Broken Lizard’s closest contemporaries are probably the equally little-known Canadian group The Kids In The Hall, who also made a fairly decent comedy (Brain Candy) but have since disappeared. Who knows, perhaps in a few years Broken Lizard will have produced a string of comedy hits and will be revered world-wide as Comedy Gods? Don’t hold your breath though…
In short, this is worth seeing if you’re in the mood for a mindless, instantly forgettable comedy. But otherwise, you may as well wait for the video. Or download it off the in-ter-net, or whatever the kids are doing these days.