There are a lot of comedies made that use silly or even stupid humor. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I have skipped watching some movies because I thought they looked too stupid only to end up watching them later and really enjoying them. Super Troopers is one of those movies.

The State police post near the town of Spurbury Vermont was staffed by five officers who seemed more interesting in goofing off and pulling pranks than in dealing with crime. Captain John O’Hagen was trying to get the men to straighten up since they were facing the possibility of their post being eliminated because of state budget cuts. They thought things were looking better when the made a big drug bust, but things kept going wrong for them. The local Spurbury police department, rivals of the state troopers, kept trying to make sure that the post was closed.

Super Troopers had a fairly basic plot without anything complicated going on. The main focus was on how the troopers were trying to keep their post from closing. There were a couple of subplots added in that seemed to just be there to make the running time longer. Most of what was going on tied back into the attempts to keep the post open in some way. It was a little convenient how so many seemingly unrelated things tied back into that. Some of the movie did seem to be a bunch of comedy bits that were meshed together, probably to make the run time longer. The movie was mostly predictable, but there were a couple of surprises. I did think that the movie managed to be entertaining even with the plot issues.

There wasn’t anything serious about Super Troopers. They did do some actual police work like work on a drug bust, but they didn’t go about it in a serious way. The troopers tended to goof around and pull pranks while they were on duty, like what Thorny and Rabbit did when the pulled over three high young men. It was silly, but very funny. Captain O’Hagen usually didn’t take part in the pranks and he tended to try to keep the men under control. He did join the men in some drunken shenanigans later in the movie. There were a lot of silly pranks throughout the movie that did end up working with everything that was going on. Some of what they did was a bit crude and could offend some people.

I don’t consider Super Troopers an action movie, but there was a bit of action in a few scenes. There were a few rather wild car chases that were very entertaining. Those things did help to keep things interesting. The other police work that was shown really didn’t add any action. There was only a little bit of minor violence in a few scenes. There was a lot of swearing by just about every character, with a few unique combinations used. That, along with the drug use shown, got the movie an R rating. Anyone that doesn’t like to watch movies with a lot of swearing should avoid this one. The swearing will probably offend some people.

Foster started seeing Ursula, one of the Spurbury cops. That wasn’t a huge aspect of the movie, but it did eventually connect into the main plot. The two were very attracted to each other and were shown making out more than once. It was made very clear that they had an active sex life. The two could barely keep their hands off each other. There were many sexual remarks made throughout the movie. Thorny talked more than once about how he and his girlfriend had an open relationship and would include others in their sex lives. One short scene was used to illustrate how wild their sex life was without showing an actual sexual encounter. A few characters showed a lot of skin with Mac showing off his bare backside. Farva was shown naked in one scene that included a frontal shot that briefly showed everything. Anyone that doesn’t like to see frontal male nudity should pick a different movie.

The five main characters were played by actors who are part of a comedy group called Broken Lizard. The group has released two other movies and I believe they are planning to make more. They did seem to work together well and they all handled their parts well. Captain O’Hagen tried to keep the men in line but he wasn’t always able to keep control. It didn’t seem like he minded some of the pranks. He just got frustrated since the post was in danger and the men wouldn’t straighten up. Brian Cox was really good in the part that was different from the more serious roles I’m use to seeing him play.

Thorny seemed to be the second in command. He seemed to be more serious than the others, but he took part in his fair share of the pranks as well. Rabbit was the newest man to join the post and he was fitting in well. He was usually working with Thorny and the two had some fun with the traffic stops they made. Mac and Foster usually worked together. Mac was probably the most twisted of the men and he did some rather weird things at times. Foster seemed to be a little more normal even though he got messed up in several pranks as well. Ursula was the only woman on the Spurbury force and she seemed to be the only competent one there.

Farva was loud and obnoxious and not liked by anyone. The other officers tended to make him the butt of their jokes. With the way he acted, it was easy to see why that happened. He was stuck working dispatch because of an incident involving a bus. He couldn’t control his temper and was basically a jerk. Bruce Grady was the chief of the Spurbury police. The other officers were shown without really being developed. It did seem a little odd that there weren’t any other troopers working at the post.

Main Cast

Jay Chandrasekhar - Thorny
Marisa Coughlan - Ursula
Brian Cox - Captain O’Hagen
Kevin Heffernan - Farva
Steve Lemme - Mac
Paul Soter - Foster
Erik Stolhanske - Rabbit

Jay Chandrasekhar - Director

DVD Information

I first saw Super Troopers when I rented the DVD. Since I enjoyed the movie so much, I eventually picked up my own copy of the DVD. My copy has the widescreen version of the movie. I think there is also a full screen version available. The disc includes commentaries by the members of Broken Lizard, outtakes, extended scenes, an alternate ending. And a featurette that was made like the men were real Vermont state troopers.

Super Troopers was crude and will offend some people. The humor tended to be silly or even stupid, but I felt that it worked and I thought the movie was very funny. People who like silly humor or who have seen other movies featuring the members of Broken Lizard may also like this one. It isn’t a movie for everyone though.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD