Broken Lizard Group: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan,
Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske
Cast:
Rabbit: Erik Stolhanske
Thorny: Jay Chandrasekhar
Mac: Steve Lemme
Farva: Kevin Heffernan
Foster: Paul Soter
Ursula: Marisa Coughlan
Captain O'Hagen: Brian Cox
Super Troopers
is a pet project/vehicle for the Broken Lizard troupe.
Apparently the group of Broken Lizard did skits or improv in college.
They're kind of like Monty Python but they try too hard to be funny.
The only one in here that is actually funny is Farva, kind of a mix of Chris
Farley and Jerry Lewis. Farva has this really funny line that is just so
stupid it sets the tone for the whole movie (a denim clad captain enters
the room and Farva looks at him and says: "Look who's talking Denim Dan,
you look like the president, chariman, and CEO of Levi Straus!"). For
better or worse the Broken Lizard group got together to write and star
in their pet project/vehicle that wound up to be the former. They pull
it off with mildly entertaining results if only for a few select
moments.
Super Troopers tells the story of a group of state troopers, played by
the members of Broken Lizard. These state troopers prowl the highway
looking to pull someone over to mess with them. Once that happens they
usually just mess with them like taunting them by saying meow instead of
now (it sounds unfunny when it is described but it's actually a pretty
funny scene) or the repeat game.
It's no suprise when their station is
about to shut down since they only give a few tickets. The local cops
begin to invade their highway turf. Then the plot starts convulsing like
a kid sitting to close to the screen during an episode of Pokemon. It
starts in about a drug ring ran by some fan of Johnny Chimpo (a mock of
the Japanimation animes) and then stops. Mentioned here and there is
said plot. And what is it about comedies these days about having to have
scenes with drugs? Is it a law anymore? It was funny in the 70's, mildly
funny in the 80's, and old in the 90's. Anyway, a few scenes save this
movie from complete and utter disaster. Mostly scenes with Farva and a
few of the games the troopers play.
Running at a very dragged out 103 minutes, it seems like this film is
the same thing over and over. While I give them points for trying to do
a sort of Monty Python thing, it just comes off as tedious and not
funny. Complete with an ending that is real easy to spot and you have an
average comedy.
Into the disc. I expected the picture to be a little better than this.
The colors are often very sharp and bright but there's just nothing
exciting about it. Often times, pixelization can be spotted on objects
and apparent grain is there sometimes as well. Not a bad transfer, but
it's just not up to 20th Century Fox's standards.
The sound is just decent too. Nothing loud or anything happens in the
film so just as long as it's audible throughout. I think comedies are
the most boring to review in the sound department since it doesn't
really matter much.
The extras are comprised of tons of deleted scenes and extended scenes.
A mildly funny alternate ending is included as well. The only other
supplements are the theatrical trailer, a trailer for
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
and a video of the road trip to promote the movie. Two audio
commentaries are offered as well and they're good. The Broken Lizard
group was split up for two recordings. I would have rather seen all of
them together on one track.
Overall, if you like every movie that says comedy somewhere on the box
then you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for a smart comedy
with a Monty Python feel to it you won't find it here. An average movie
coupled with an average DVD, nothing more, nothing less.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
