Super Troopers
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| Super Troopers | |
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| Directed by | Jay Chandrasekhar |
| Produced by | Richard Perello |
| Written by | Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske |
| Starring | Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske Brian Cox |
| Music by | .38 Special, The Unband |
| Cinematography | Joaquín Baca-Asay |
| Editing by | Jay Chandrasekhar Jacob Craycroft Kevin Heffernan |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,000,000 |
| Followed by | Super Troopers 2 |
| IMDb profile | |
Super Troopers, (also known as Broken Lizard's Super Troopers) is a 2001 comedy film written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske). Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance. The movie was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. In total, Fox Searchlight paid $3.25 million for distribution rights of this movie[1] ; this movie made $18.5 million at the box office.
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[edit] Plot
The plot centers on five Vermont state troopers who seem to have more of a knack for pranks than actual police work. Most of their time is spent devising new ways of messing with the heads of the people they pull over, hazing the new recruit, "Rabbit", and tormenting their easily infuriated radio dispatcher, Farva, who has been exiled from patrol work because he, as later revealed during the credits, was involved in a fight with several students on a traffic stop of a schoolbus. Their days of pranking and slacking off are cut short when the troopers suddenly find themselves attempting to solve a murder, bust a drug-smuggling ring, and avoid having their post eliminated by the state's impending budget cut — resulting in their transfer, or quitting and "opening up a roller disco."
The troopers have an ongoing rivalry with the local police department in Spurbury and constantly have fights with them ("highway cops versus the local cops"); one such dispute breaks out into an all-out fistfight, further increasing the station's chances of being shut down. The rivalry eventually results in the governor's (Lynda Carter) praise for the efforts of the Spurbury PD, who had managed to keep one step ahead of the state police by making their department appear responsible for the confiscation of the smuggled drugs.
Defeated, the defrocked troopers unexpectedly stumble upon the local police running protection for the drug smugglers. The film's epilogue finds the state troopers' highway post still eliminated due to the budget cuts; however, they are the new local police officers (replacing their presumably incarcerated corrupt predecessors) and thus continue their hijinks in and around their jurisdiction.
[edit] The troopers
- Arcot "Thorny" Ramathorn (Jay Chandrasekhar) is a veteran of the Vermont State Troopers who is more or less the second in command in his station. Although he is the most serious of the field officers in his station, he has no inhibitions against bending the rules and playing pranks if he knows they will not result in any serious repercussions. He has a son as well as a hippie girlfriend who owns a head shop. Both he and his girlfriend sleep with other people including a couple the troopers arrested. His ethnicity remains a point of confusion and humor for the others who confuse him for a Mexican, Arab-American and an African-American rather than the Indian-American that he is.
- Jeff Foster (Paul Soter) is arguably the calmest and most reserved trooper of the force. He engages in a relationship with Spurbury local police officer Ursula during the movie and, with help from her, ultimately uncovers the corruption of the local police. He is often mocked by his coworkers for his inability to grow a moustache.
- MacIntyre "Mac" Womack (Steve Lemme) is the trooper who enjoys pranks the most. He is called a “sick mother fucker” by Captain O'Hagen for the level to which he takes his tricks. Mac is the proud owner of a costume that looks like a man having sex with a bear. Mac is also the most expressive of the troopers, whether verbally ridiculing Farva for his lame tricks or nearly taking out his anger for the closing of his station through violence against Foster.
- Robert "Rabbit" Roto (Erik Stolhanske) is the newest addition to the force. He is partnered with Ramathorn until he is caught speeding in a car confiscated from two suspects as stolen property and demoted to dispatch, although he is soon promoted back. He is often accused by Farva of knowing more about drugs than he should and is accused of having toured with the Grateful Dead when he was younger.
- Rodney "Rod" Farva (Kevin Heffernan) is fat, loud, obnoxious and arrogant. He is almost always under suspension from field work due to his inability to control his anger. His pranks (shenanigans) are often described as “cruel and tragic” rather than “cheeky and fun” making them not simply “shenanigans”, but “evil shenanigans”. He advocates the naming of his patrol car with Ramathorn as “Car RamRod.”
- Captain John O'Hagen (Brian Cox) is the captain of his Vermont State Trooper barracks. He acts as a mentor and father to his troopers and tries his best to keep the station from being cut from the budget. He is a two-time boxing champion in the Navy and is derided by Farva for his choice in dress as wearing a “Canadian Tuxedo” — an outfit made completely from denim. Brian Cox is also the only actor to play a Trooper who is not a member of Broken Lizard.
[edit] Filming
"Local Cop" scenes were mainly filmed in the City of Beacon, and the "Highway Cop" scenes were filmed on New York State Route 117 in Westchester County, New York in the towns of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor[citation needed], with Rockefeller State Park Preserve, which runs parallel, used as well. The syrup chugging scene was filmed in M's Cozy Corner located in Fishkill, NY which has since closed and been replaced by a pharmacy. The pharmacy closed in 2007 due to flooding.[1].
[edit] Critical reception
The film has received mixed reviews from critics, greeted warmly by some and scalded by others. Aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes scores only 36%[2] positive reviews while Metacritic, another aggregate review website, gives it a metascore of 48 out of 100,[3] which, according to the website's rating system, scores as Mixed or average reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film 2½ stars out of 4 saying "I can't quite recommend it--it's too patched together--but I almost can; it's the kind of movie that makes you want to like it"[4].
[edit] Prequel
At the 2006 Comic-Con Convention in San Diego, California, comedy troupe Broken Lizard revealed that a prequel for the film is in the works. It will take place in the 1970's and will follow the fathers of the main characters in the original film.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Movie Production Notes: Super Troopers. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ Super Troopers, Rotten Tomatoes.com. Accessed April 9, 2008.
- ^ Super Troopers, Metacritic.com. Accessed April 9, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. Super Troopers, Chicago Sun-Times, February 15, 2002. Accessed April 9, 2008.
- ^ News from Comic Con: Super Troopers 2 is on!. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
[edit] External links
- Super Troopers at the Internet Movie Database
- Super Troopers Movie Soundboard
- Super Troopers at Rotten Tomatoes
- Super Troopers at Box Office Mojo
- Broken Lizard Official MySpace Page
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