Last Updated on July 30, 2021
PLOT: Years after being drummed off the force, a gang of former state troopers get a crack at getting their old jobs back when it’s revealed a small Canadian town is actually located on American soil.
REVIEW: Ah, Broken Lizard. They were a staple of early-00’s bro culture, just like Maxim Magazine, and Limp Bizkit. I should know – I was an avid consumer of said culture. SUPER TROOPERS was one of those dorm-room staples like VAN WILDER and the first HAROLD & KUMAR, heavily consumed by my ilk before moving on to more cultish fare like MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN (both of which – I should mention – showed up on Netflix the other day).
All that said, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Broken Lizard boys, with SUPER TROOPERS still good for a chuckle, although I wasn’t keen on the follow-ups (BEERFEST has its moments though). Despite each of them facing incipient middle age, there’s something comforting about this sequel being just as silly, and brain-dead as the original, although the humor is definitely more forced this time. In that regard, SUPER TROOPERS 2 is a lot like DUMB & DUMBER TO, or later Adam Sandler movies. It’s funny to watch youngish guys being stupid, but watching them act the same way in middle age isn’t quite as easy to laugh at, as it takes on an air of tragedy.
SUPER TROOPERS 2 starts off with the guys older, but none the wiser, as they work on a construction crew. The personalities are still intact, with Kevin Heffernan’s Farva still the loud, obnoxious one they all hate, while Erik Stolhanske’s Rabbit still gets hazed as “the rookie”. Similar to its predecessor, this is like a slightly more sophisticated POLICE ACADEMY, as the boys find themselves back in their old jobs due to a land dispute with Canada. They wind-up patrolling the disputed land, which is about to become part of the States, leading to lots of discontent with the unhappy Canadian locals – cue lots of “sow-ry”, and “eh” jokes. Given that the town is in Quebec, there are also lots of French digs, although once again, Americans think French Canadians have a French from France accent. Non. Even local gal Emmanuelle Chriqui falls into the trap. Pourquoi???
Like the first one, the jokes are hit and miss, but unlike it, the ratio is way more skewed to miss. If the first was something like 60/40, this one’s like 20/80. While some of the jokes are great, such as a bit where the guys have to each sample confiscated pills, with Jay Chandrasekhar’s Thorny getting addicted to a female sex-booster called Flova Scotia (tee-hee-hee), they don’t make up for all the dumb slapstick. Particularly unfunny is the rivalry with the Mounties the boys are replacing, played by Tyler Labine, Will Sasso, and Hayes MacArthur.
Then again, the fact that the Broken Lizard gang are still able to come up with a few funny gags says something, and as bad as it occasionally is, SUPER TROOPERS 2 Is mostly inoffensive, and not too painful to watch. It’s also always fun to see Brian Cox cut loose and have fun, with him clearly relishing his return to the franchise, reprising his role as their captain. He gets more in on the antics this time, although nothing beats the scene in the first film when he drunkenly pulls over a couple and pees in their car. Rob Lowe also has fun as the Quebecois mayor, even sneaking in a bit of his wacky “Lowe Files” trivia as a former hockey player named for the famous Halifax Explosion (Lowe’s already hit the late night circuit talking it up).
Let’s face it – the Broken Lizard gang had their moment. They did what they did pretty well, but comedic tastes have changed somewhat. However, there’s no doubt they still have their fans (let’s not forget how wildly successful their Indie Go-Go campaign was), and if you’re a die-hard, you’ll probably like SUPER TROOPERS 2. For the rest of us, it’s a decent Netflix watch for a joke-or-two, but not worth shelling-out any real cash for.
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