I originally planned to do Super Troopers later and do a month of Broken Lizard movies but right now seems like the best possible time to review one of my favorite comedies of all time. Why, you may find yourself asking? That’s because three days ago the Broken Lizard crew started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for Super Troopers 2. Their goal was two million dollars and they raised that much in under two days. There’s still twenty-nine days left to support the film and get some cool stuff along with it. I’ll provide the link at the bottom of the review and I highly suggest you consider donating to help make part 2 the best it can be.
For those of you who don’t know, Broken Lizard is a group of guys who are actors, comedians, and writers and all work together to make funny indie movies. When they announced the Indiegogo campaign I knew I had to move the romcom suggested by my friend Evan back a week to get out this one and do my tiny part to raise awareness for the fundraiser.
If you’re one of the people who haven’t seen Super Troopers yet then go see it right meow! Anyone who HAS watched the movie saw that last joke coming a mile away. You can find anyone who’s seen the movie and mention cat game, syrup chugging, mustache rides, or shenanigans to them an instantly be on the same page. Super Troopers isn’t the funniest movie I’ve ever seen. There are a ton of other movies I’ve laughed more at, but what the Broken Lizard guys were able to do with this movie was make one of the best fun and quotable comedies in a long time.
Erik Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, and Paul Soter make up Broken Lizard and have fantastic on screen chemistry that makes their movies a joy to watch. The good writing, jokes, and acting help too, but watching them play off each other (even if it is all scripted) is fun from start to finish. The plot on it’s own is very familiar and could have easily been a forgettable dumb comedy but thankfully they avoided that. Broken Lizard also avoided being too irreverent which is surprising seeing as it’s a movie about law enforcement. With the exception of one character (who will remain nameless just in case you’re a heretic and haven’t seen the movie) they’re smart and well spoken. The comedy comes from their shenanigans and not from any shortcoming as a person or a cop. Even the one exception I mentioned above is still well-intentioned even though he does and says all the wrong things. Super Troopers even kept from being too goofy or dumb which probably adds to it’s value as an easily rewatchable movie. I love the first Dumb and Dumber but I can’t watch it twice in one week like I did Super Troopers.
Another thing the movie did well was that it made me care about the plot and what happened. I was invested in the group of easy going, antic driven, troopers and their well being. I wanted them to win in the end and each defeat and success made me genuinely feel good. This good feeling is enhanced by the fact that Broken Lizard doesn’t have an agenda. They just wanted to make movie that was fun to watch and that would make you laugh. They also know how to spread out screen time so each one of them was important. All their other movies work the same way. One or two of them can be considered the main character(s) they are all equally important. Broken Lizard is a true ensemble. They may have different side projects that they do on their own, but when it comes down to it, they’re a group and do their best work with each other.
I’m going to wrap this Movie Night post up but be sure to check out the Indiegogo campaign. I hope I persuaded you to watch or rewatch Super Troopers and I hope you support their fundraiser. They may have already met their goal but all the extra money is going into the movie so every dollar helps. Let me end this like I always do. With a score.
Super Troopers gets a 9 out of 10