Scott Weinberg
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2000
- Messages
- 7,477
The 5-man Canadian comedy troupe Broken Lizard hit Sundance with their slob comedy Super Troopers, and it was the first movie snatched up for distribution. Fox Searchlight is taking the gamble on this one, and if the non-stop TV commericals (and the cute little toy promos dispensed at the screening) are any evidence, they've put a lot of money behind Super Troopers. While I doubt this flick will prove to be a big hit, the intermittently hilarious Super Troopers is certainly destined for a long life as a cult favorite and fraternity house masterpiece.
Some comedies (Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Airplane!, etc.) deliver the goods on a rapid-fire basis, thereby cementing their 'classic' status, while farces of lesser stature are content to deliver one good belly laugh for every five gags that don't fly as highly. Such is the case with Super Troopers; there are several damn funny bits, but unfortunately they're wedged between some dry spells that run for as long as fifteen minutes.
The plot covers the familiar ground of "let's save our school/hangout/police station from demolition and somehow do it through a non-stop parade of fart jokes, pot sessions and moments of mass destruction". The heroes of Super Troopers are a quartet of Vermont Highway Patrolmen who get a big kick out of goofing off, torturing motorists and humiliating one another. Their lazy ways may be ending soon, as the Governer is threatening to close the Police Station down unless these crazed cops manage to distinguish themselves.
There is of course a crew of villainous local cops who will stop at nothing to sabotage the whacked-out troopers. All of the devious tricks, pointless political subplots and requsite romance subplots are mere frameworks on which to hang some truly profane and funny gags. (The film's opening bit, in which two troopers mercilessly harass a trio of pothead teens, is quite entertaining.)
The best laughs in the film come from the sarcastic and raunchy banter between the various officers. Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directed) is effortlessly amusing as Lt. Thorn, and the other four members of Broken Lizard (Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) quickly settle into a comfortable 'vibe' with one another. When these five guys are in a room riffing on each other, Super Troopers is at its best. Veteran actors Daniel van Bargen (Shaft) and Brian Cox (Manhunter) are on hand as the two warring police captains, and their efforts range from quite amusing to somewhat irritating. Wonder Woman fans my notice the brief and pointless cameo by Lynda Carter as the Governor of Vermont.
As a team, the Broken Lizard guys have an obvious chemistry together and they squeeze laughs out of simple barbs and snappy comebacks. Also impressive is their affinity for doing "anything for a laugh". The insufferable Officer Farva (played by Heffernan) withstands some truly humorous humiliations and it works because the actor stays in character perfectly. Plus, you have to give a little credit to a big fat guy who will bare it all for a cheap giggle...
Unfortunately, there's too much "other stuff" going on besides the sophomoric silliness. Despite the presence of some solid laughs, the movie as a whole moves at too languid a pace for a comedy of this style. At 103 minutes, Super Troopers is about 15 minutes longer than it needs to be. Seemingly not content to be merely a pointless slob comedy (where it acquits itself rather well), Super Troopers seems a bit too intent on actually presenting a cohesive story, despite its lazy pacing and myriad plot holes.
Most definitely a 'beer and pretzels' type of comedy, Super Troopers will appeal to the fifteen year old in all of us. While this one is as raunchy and silly as most modern comedies, the Broken Lizard crew manage to elevate this one into something noticably better. It wont grace many Top Ten lists, but Super Troopers manages to entertain quite capably for 70% of its overlong running time.
In other words: It's no masterpeice, but you'll laugh.
:star::star::star: (out of :star::star::star::star::star: )
Some comedies (Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Airplane!, etc.) deliver the goods on a rapid-fire basis, thereby cementing their 'classic' status, while farces of lesser stature are content to deliver one good belly laugh for every five gags that don't fly as highly. Such is the case with Super Troopers; there are several damn funny bits, but unfortunately they're wedged between some dry spells that run for as long as fifteen minutes.
The plot covers the familiar ground of "let's save our school/hangout/police station from demolition and somehow do it through a non-stop parade of fart jokes, pot sessions and moments of mass destruction". The heroes of Super Troopers are a quartet of Vermont Highway Patrolmen who get a big kick out of goofing off, torturing motorists and humiliating one another. Their lazy ways may be ending soon, as the Governer is threatening to close the Police Station down unless these crazed cops manage to distinguish themselves.
There is of course a crew of villainous local cops who will stop at nothing to sabotage the whacked-out troopers. All of the devious tricks, pointless political subplots and requsite romance subplots are mere frameworks on which to hang some truly profane and funny gags. (The film's opening bit, in which two troopers mercilessly harass a trio of pothead teens, is quite entertaining.)
The best laughs in the film come from the sarcastic and raunchy banter between the various officers. Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directed) is effortlessly amusing as Lt. Thorn, and the other four members of Broken Lizard (Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) quickly settle into a comfortable 'vibe' with one another. When these five guys are in a room riffing on each other, Super Troopers is at its best. Veteran actors Daniel van Bargen (Shaft) and Brian Cox (Manhunter) are on hand as the two warring police captains, and their efforts range from quite amusing to somewhat irritating. Wonder Woman fans my notice the brief and pointless cameo by Lynda Carter as the Governor of Vermont.
As a team, the Broken Lizard guys have an obvious chemistry together and they squeeze laughs out of simple barbs and snappy comebacks. Also impressive is their affinity for doing "anything for a laugh". The insufferable Officer Farva (played by Heffernan) withstands some truly humorous humiliations and it works because the actor stays in character perfectly. Plus, you have to give a little credit to a big fat guy who will bare it all for a cheap giggle...
Unfortunately, there's too much "other stuff" going on besides the sophomoric silliness. Despite the presence of some solid laughs, the movie as a whole moves at too languid a pace for a comedy of this style. At 103 minutes, Super Troopers is about 15 minutes longer than it needs to be. Seemingly not content to be merely a pointless slob comedy (where it acquits itself rather well), Super Troopers seems a bit too intent on actually presenting a cohesive story, despite its lazy pacing and myriad plot holes.
Most definitely a 'beer and pretzels' type of comedy, Super Troopers will appeal to the fifteen year old in all of us. While this one is as raunchy and silly as most modern comedies, the Broken Lizard crew manage to elevate this one into something noticably better. It wont grace many Top Ten lists, but Super Troopers manages to entertain quite capably for 70% of its overlong running time.
In other words: It's no masterpeice, but you'll laugh.
:star::star::star: (out of :star::star::star::star::star: )
