Monday, January 24, 2022

2K Replay: SUPER TROOPERS

 by Adam Riske

Winner of the Audience Award for Midnight Films at the SXSW Film Festival.

• Best Scene/Moment: The opening sequence where a couple of Troopers mess with three stoners on the highway. It’s a funny bit to kick off the movie and sets the tone nicely.

• Best Song: “Pink Slip” by The Unband.

• Best Merch: A black light poster signed by every member of Broken Lizard for $149.99. What better accessory for a stoner movie than a stoner poster?
• Director Check: Like every Broken Lizard vehicle except for The Slammin’ Salmon (which was directed by fellow Broken Lizard member Kevin Heffernan), Super Troopers was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, who also co-wrote and co-stars in the film. After the cult success of this movie, Chandrasekhar became a somewhat in-demand comedy director, also making 2005’s The Dukes of Hazzard and 2012’s The Babymakers and a ton of TV including episodes of Arrested Development, Psych, Community, New Girl, and The Goldbergs. Chandrasekhar’s next feature directing effort is 2022’s Easter Sunday, starring Jo Koy, Jimmy O. Yang, and Tia Carrere, which is due for release in April. Overall, I like his work as a director. The films of his that I’ve seen are shaggy but that suits the material, and his movies are often funny…except for Dukes of Hazzard, which is just bad, bad, bad.

• Double It with This 2002 Movie: Jackass: The Movie

• Year 2002 Movies to Trailer Before It: Austin Powers in Goldmember, Sorority Boys, Undercover Brother

Draft Day or Super Troopers? Draft Day

• Mall Movie? Absolutely. Super Troopers is a cult classic/midnight movie/” boys will be boys” comedy adored by beer drinking college kids. The mall cinema is the perfect home for it.
• Only in 2002: Joey Kern.

• Scene Stealer: Brian Cox.

• I Miss (tie): Broken Lizard movies and Daniel von Bargen.

• I Don’t Miss: Guys my age who wanted to be Broken Lizard and not just watch Broken Lizard.

• 2002 Crush: Maria Tornberg.

• 2022 Crush: Lynda Carter.
• What I Thought in 2002: I saw Super Troopers at just the right time (I was coming off my sophomore year in college) and thought it was hilarious. The movie became a DVD that was passed around my group of friends and turned me into a big fan of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. Autobiographical aside: I remember seeing Broken Lizard’s follow-up (Club Dread) at my beloved Student Union and then immediately driving into town to see a late opening-night show of The Passion of the Christ. It was quite an evening.

• What I Think in 2022: Super Troopers holds up! I was pleasantly surprised to see how funny the film still is and that my affection for Broken Lizard hasn’t waned over the years and now is the stuff of nostalgia. I miss the days when they had a new comedy in theaters every couple of years. Super Troopers and Beerfest are my favorites of their work. I might have to do a Broken Lizard run now. I haven’t seen Beerfest, The Slammin’ Salmon, or Super Troopers 2 in a while (...been awhile). P.S. Kevin Heffernan should have become a John Candy-level comedy star.

2 comments:

  1. A couple of the members made the TV show Tacoma FD. It's good enough, but nowhere near the level of Super Trooper

    And Super Trooper 2 is not good.

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  2. I'm glad you mentioned Brian Cox because he's a gem and steals every scene he's in.

    I only saw these movies in the 2010's, so don't have any nostalgia, but am always a little surprised when hearing that Super Troopers was the "possibly the best movie ever" and Super Troopers 2 was "a travesty". I enjoyed the original more, but thought they were pretty comparable. As a Canadian I enjoyed all the Canada jokes that the second one had. I've thought (about Super Troopers 2 and other longtime afterwards sequels) that it's maybe not so much the comedy that has changed, but rather the audience that has changed (teenager/college bro vs adult with young kids).

    I don't know if this is a great example, but it certainly played a part. Nostalgia kind of distorts things. I've only seen them both once each, so perhaps a second viewing will propel Super Troopers to the heavens and 2 to the realm of Birdemic.

    I think Beerfest was the one I enjoyed the most. Slammin' Salmon I only first watched last fall, and wish I had liked it more. It was enjoyable, but not the laugh fest I had hoped.

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