Super Troopers Isn't Highly Exceptional But It Has Its Share of Solid Laughs

So now that Super Troopers 2 didn't work out, let's go back in time and look at how exactly the first Super Troopers holds up. Despite being a widely beloved comedy, I had not seen this debut motion picture from the Broken Lizard comedy troop until this past Friday. Having now seen it, I'm afraid I can't count myself as one of the devotees of this specific movie, but more happily, I also cannot count myself as one who has disdain for this original Super Troopers. This original Super Troopers is a decently humorous movie with some memorable gags even if it can't quite sustain itself for its 100-minute runtime.


Debuting back at the 2001 Sundance Film festival before a proper theatrical release in February 2002, Super Troopers is all about a highway patrol in Vermont and the wacky antics they get into, most of which revolve around messing with the various citizens they pull over. The five members of Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske and Kevin Heffernan) play the members of this highway patrol while Brian Cox plays their superior. Most of the movie is goofy antics while the prospect of their highway patrol unit being dissolved lingers in the background, though some recently discovered contraband could be their ticket to keeping their jobs.

Not a lot of plot to be found here, but when the jokes are working, it's hard to complain. Though it's got its fair share of obvious jokes (like an encounter with a European couple that's sexually aggressive), there are a number of more delightful gags to be found in the proceedings, most notably Kevin Heffernan as Farva, a character who totally seem like the kind of fictional individual I can't stand. Loud-mouthed obnoxious characters whose behavior is played up for laughs normally drive me up the wall, but Farva is a total hoot and gets some of the best moments of the movie, especially his constant aggravation at a fast food clerk that's simmering before he even orders his food.

Farva isn't just a man-child in terms of maturity, he's practically a man-infant who just spews whatever vulgar thing is on his mind at any given moment. Kevin Heffernan plays the character with remarkable and amusing gusto, while the script makes some wise choices with Farva, namely keeping him behind a desk for a good chunk of the story, thus limiting his screentime, as well as making sure he's always getting one-upped, that makes the character work. The rest of the main characters, sans the superior officer played by Brian Cox, unfortunately, aren't all that memorable, but like the barely-there plot, that's not too much of a hindrance when the laughs are steady.

When the laughs aren't around in constant supply though, that's when Super Troopers runs into trouble. All of this goofball nuttiness manages to wear out its welcome before the credits roll and a climactic rush to stop some local corrupt cops isn't all that engaging even just in terms of delivering some yuks. Super Troopers is basically one exceptional supporting character surrounded by a mostly agreeable but not noteworthy movie, but that's better than I can say for a lot of cult comedies that I've watched for the first time long after the hype has worn off. It's easy to see why people fell in love with this gaggle of irresponsible state troopers, even if I found it to just be an overall OK comedy.