As much as I hate to admit it, I find myself agreeing with Ain’t It Cool News’ ad quote of “Funny, funny, funny stuff all over this movie!” Okay, maybe I wouldn’t go so far as to say three “funny, funny, funny” (or “all over this movie,” for that matter), but this appealingly juvenile trifle from the comedy troupe Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar, who also directed; Kevin Heffernan; Steve Lemme; Paul Soter; and Erik Stolhanske) does deliver its share of laughs and smiles. The “super troopers” of the title are not the large spotlights of which ABBA sang so fondly some 20 years ago but a goofy squad of state troopers working the Vermont-Canada border who take great pleasure in screwing around with the local police, the people whom they pull over, and themselves. But when the state threatens to pull funding, the gang is pressured by their captain (Brian Cox) to clean up their act. Whether or not they do, of course, is an entirely different story.
The awful trailer of the film gives both a clear yet unfair indication of the film. The film’s shamelessly silly vibe comes through in trailer, but it strings together many of the film’s dud jokes (likely because those are the ones that can pass for a general audiences, green band trailer). Luckily, the genuinely funny jokes far outnumber the duds in the film itself, which is helped by the generally energetic performances by Broken Lizard and their co-stars, which also include Marisa Coughlan as a cop who catches a trooper’s fancy and Daniel Von Bargen as the police chief. Granted, these troopers won’t be so super for everyone, but anyone who can appreciate the sublime absurdity of a misunderstanding over the term “biker” will find much to enjoy.
