Okay, so I saw "Super Troopers", right. And it's not terrible,
which is the good news. But it's pretty sloppy.
"Super Troopers" is a movie about a bunch of state troopers.
They are basically a bunch of pranksters and fuck-ups who occasionally
do something right. But the governor (apparently under the impression
that police officers should, oh, I don't know, bust criminals) wants
to shut down their unit and turn everything into the hands of the
local law enforcement who, I guess, are supposed to be evil simply
because they have no sense of humor and actually want to do their
job. I guess they have better things to do than guzzling maple syrup
from the bottle and pretending to be dangerous speeders.
I think you should be able to note, by the irony that is drizzled
lovingly over the past paragraph, that this film has some issues.
I am okay with the cop heroes of "Super Troopers" being
screw-ups and fairly goofy guys with a lack of moral terpitude. Hell,
that would make this film one which followed in the hilarious footsteps
of "Animal
House" and "Used Cars" and I never have a problem
with that. But, you see, here's sorta the problem: the guys in "Used
Cars" used their goofball tendencies and their shady morals to
actually be better at their job. In "Animal
House", those guys were frat boys. They're supposed to be
like that. But these are cops. Plus, most of their pranks aren't all
that funny. I loved it when they were messing with some potheads that
they pulled over. That was good stuff, and the highlight of the film.
And I liked it when they were messing with Farva, the clueless doorknob
who works dispatch for their unit. These were funny moments. I also
liked when two of them got locked in the rear of a semi due to their
prankster ways. But a lot of this stuff just isn't that great. Had
I laughed more, I would not have minded it so much.
As for plot, there really isn't one. This film has slightly more plot
than a night of "Saturday Night Live", but not much. It's
a lot of sketches threaded together in a slipshod fashion. Some are
funny. Some aren't. Much like a night of "Saturday Night Live".
Simple as that. It's fun to see Brian Cox as the head of their troop.
And it's fun to see cops mess with the minds of a carload of stoners.
And I liked the subplot involving the trooper who was actively pursuing
a cute girl who works for the local cops (Marisa Coughlin, who is
still working after her appearance in "Freddy
Got Fingered"). But the rest is rather bland.
Unlike "Jay
and Silent Bob Strike Back", however, the film is merely
bland at its worst. It is not wretched. It's worth the price of rental.
I'll grant it that.
