by Nick Ferro, Editor
Back in February of 2002, when I was the wee age of 16, Super Troopers was released in theaters and I, only a mere month away from turning 17, was not yet able purchase my own ticket. However, I was graced with friends old enough to purchase tickets for me so that with that hurdle avoided the next was the parental objection. Unfortunately, I possessed parents who forbade all R rated movies, especially stoner comedies with the potential for hedonistic ideas like pre-marital sex, “drinking and, drinking and, drinking and… Smokin’ the reefer!” So, I told them that my friends’ girlfriends wanted to see the Mandy Moore “classic(?)” A Walk to Remember for Valentines Day and my deception was complete! (Sorry Mom).
Super Troopers was perhaps one of the funniest movies I had ever seen in my life, despite my little sheltered brain not understanding 100% of the jokes, I was able to use context clues to parse some things out. It has always stood out among my favorite comedies and despite some of the humor not aging particularly well (what does from the early 2000s?), it has for the most part stood the test of time to remain in my top 200 favorites movies of all time! Super Troopers 2… not so much but, unlike many, I have a very soft spot in my heart for that entry. It is by no means a “good” movie, but it furthers the adventures of this group of zany characters and provides some good laughs throughout.
The exploits of the Broken Lizard gang have always tickled my funny bone to varying degrees so while I wouldn’t say that I was excited to see Super Troopers 3, I also wasn’t going to just let this one come and go. So, like an aging highway cop attempting to jump a creek in an electric vehicle, I went in hoping to recapture that feeling of youth and I am happy to report, I was not disappointed!
Super Troopers 3 opens with Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar) talking to his sister Sarita (Hannah Simone) as she drives to visit him. While they are on the phone she is forced off the road by an aggressive driver causing her car to flip and eventually explode, but not before Farva (Kevin Heffernan) heroically saves her life. They immediately fall in love, much to Thorny’s dismay, and within a month are engaged to be married. Not wanting Farva as a brother-in-law, Thorny makes it his mission to ensure that the wedding doesn’t happen and as one could expect, shenanigans ensue.
What I immediately loved about this movie was how quickly it eased me back into the feel of this franchise. I didn’t have time to rewatch the first two in advance (which is probably for the best) so I didn’t have the baggage of comparing the humor, but I can say that save for a few very memorable references, it was similar in style but not in necessarily execution. They may have had variations of old jokes, but they never felt recycled as a way to garner nostalgic pity laughs. I thought their approach to certain jokes while reminiscent of the previous movies felt fresh and even poked fun at their older sensibilities from time to time.
As usual this series succeeds on the strength and chemistry of the core group. Farva is the big, dumb animal that everyone loves to hate, Foster (Paul Soter) is neurotic and trying to get over his recent “mutual uncoupling” with Ursula (Marisa Coughlan), and Mac (Steve Lemme) is still a little dumb and reckless at times. Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske), who has long since graduated from being a rookie, is still given crap for having once been the rookie, however this time, it’s because the new rookie is kind of awesome. Joining the cast are several newcomers but the main one to join the troopers is Rookie Coy (SNL Alum, Andrew Dismukes). His addition as the rookie who everyone likes, despite the fact that he is young, knows technology, and is full of Gen Z-isms really worked for me. A lesser movie would have made him the butt of stale jokes about how his generation is the worst, but outside of a few “shut up Rookies” when he tries to teach them how to use a smart car, they are pretty chill with him which enhances the subtle humor of his scenes. Also joining the cast is Nat Faxon as their new captain, Markowski. A testament of how well he fit in, was that I completely forgot he wasn’t in any of the previous movies. It had been so long since seeing the sequel that I just assumed he was introduced in that entry.
The need of a new captain stems from Captain O’Hagan (Brian Cox) retiring, but don’t worry, if you enjoy Cox’s performance as the angry older cop who yells and threatens the troopers, he is still here enough to make you happy. I also really enjoyed how they didn’t feel the need to oversaturate us with an unnecessary C-plot where the old captain is there to pad the runtime by searching the police station for his lost gold (that’s what the 4th movie will be about *wink). This was a cool 104 and I appreciated the brevity. Filling out the cast is Jon Rudnitsky and The Boys’ Chace Crawford, as the Buchanan Boys along with their cousin played by Lisa Gilroy in what felt like a weird homage to the Dukes of Hazard. And rounding out the cast, playing Thorny’s parents are character actors Iqbal Theba and Sakina Jaffrey who do quite a bit of comedic heavy lifting as the movie progresses.
Comedy is of course very subjective and a franchise like Super Troopers can really test those limits at times. The original felt fresh and new and hit at just the right time where comedy could take certain risks. Times change and often we have to re-evaluate what makes us laugh and why. But what I love about these movies is that they never act as though it’s impossible to make jokes anymore. They can make a joke referencing Thorny as being “the brown one” and it isn’t meant to be derogatory but commenting on that style of humor and how racially charged humor can exist so long as it isn’t punching down. There are plenty of racially charged jokes in the movie, but the point is to laugh at the person being racially insensitive for being a moron, not the racism itself. But at the same time, they also love making jokes like letting someone out of a speeding ticket if they can beat the rookie in a foot race. Or how “Here’s the deal though,” can sound an awful lot like “Here’s the dildo.” So, if you are up for, what I like to call, “Stupid Humor” then you should have something to enjoy. Plus, there are some pretty smart jokes in here as well.
Super Troopers 3, to me, is another great entry in this franchise. I would never be crazy enough to say it holds a candle to the original, but I wouldn’t cast it aside as something to skip. If you enjoy these characters or the Broken Lizard style of comedy and you have a theater subscription like AMC A-list, then I think you will be in for a treat. If not, a matinee would be fine, but I don’t think you need to put this on the “wait for streaming” pile. So, put on your aviator glasses, grab a handful of epi pens, and go see the second-best Hulk fight of the summer!
Rating: Liked It
Super Troopers 3 is currently in theaters.
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