Joey Magidson
The Super Troopers is a cult franchise that has proven surprisingly resilient. No one would have expected a Super Troopers 2, let alone this belated third installment. Super Troopers 3, while very much what you’d expect from another sequel in this comedy series, has a different sort of hang out vibe to it. There feels like less random bits and more situational comedy. It’s still very silly and a bit slapdash, but I found myself having more fun with it than I expected to. Does that warrant a recommendation? Well, this is pretty much made for fans of Super Troopers, so you probably know that answer already.
Super Troopers 3 is at its worst when dealing with the half-hearted crime element at the center of their police investigation. The film is at its best, however, when mining comedy from where these guys are in their lives now. Do all the jokes in the movie work? Not even close. Are some funny in spite of themselves? Sure. Was this entertaining? I have to admit, it mostly was.
The Vermont State Patrol Super Troopers are back. Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar), Mac (Steve Lemme), Foster (Paul Soter), Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske), and Farva (Kevin Heffernan) are up to their old antics, especially now that Captain John O’Hagan (Brian Cox) has retired, even though he’s always hanging around. Now under the leadership of Captain Todd Markowski (Nat Faxon) and with rookie Trooper Coy Burns (Andrew Dismukes) eager to impress, they’re older, if not wiser. Trouble is brewing however, given Farva’s engagement to Thorny’s sister.
As Farva pisses Thorny off, he plots to throw their Indian engagement into chaos, scheming to break them up in the process. At that’s happening, a new drug ring and vandalism of a maple syrup company demand their attention. It all comes to a head at, you guessed it…an Indian wedding. You can more or less guess how that goes.
Broken Lizard, consisting of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, has shown some impressive staying power over the years. Their style of comedy is evergreen, so as long as they keep making people laugh, they’ll always have a place in the industry. Beyond the Super Troopers trilogy, they’re also responsible for work like Beerfest, Club Dread, and The Slammin’ Salmon, plus other adjacent to Broken Lizard flicks. You probably already know your thoughts on them, and Super Troopers 3 won’t change that, but this is probably their sweetest work to date.
The performances are as you’d expect here, as the Broken Lizard guys are mostly just having a good time. Brian Cox runs circles around everyone, but isn’t on hand as much as previously. In addition to an amusing Andrew Dismukes and Nat Faxon, supporting players include Marisa Coughlan, Chace Crawford, Lisa Gilroy, Sakina Jaffrey, Hannah Simone, Iqbal Theba, and more.
Jay Chandrasekhar again serves director, with the screenplay credited to Chandrasekhar, Heffernan, Lemme, Soter, and Stolhanske as, of course, Broken Lizard. The direction is about the same as always, as is the quality of the script, though the pacing here is a bit slack, given a running time of about 105 minutes. It comes down to whether you’re engaged with this third movie. Again, the comedy of Super Troopers 3 is hit or miss, the crime element is weak, and the wedding dynamic, as well as the friendship dynamic, walks a line between raunchy and sweet. It all makes for a guilty pleasure of sorts.
Super Troopers 3 is far from high art, that much is certain. Whether it’s funny enough to warrant a watch or offers up enough to justify its own existence is up to you, but I certainly didn’t hate this viewing experience. Broken Lizard fans will be in for a treat, while all others will have to hope to get in on the joke.
SCORE: ★★1/2
Comments
Loading…