Super Troopers


Super Troopers is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group. Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance. In total, Fox Searchlight paid $3.25 million for distribution rights of the film and it grossed $23 million at the box office.
A sequel, Super Troopers 2, was released on April 20, 2018.

Plot

In the fictional town of Spurbury, Vermont, five Vermont state troopers patrol a 50-mile section of the highway. While troopers Arcot Ramathorn and the rookie, Robert "Rabbit" Roto are tormenting a group of men for smoking marijuana, they encounter a crazed attacker, who is revealed to be their fellow officer, MacIntyre Womack, playing a prank on them. Back at the station, they are chastised for a lack of arrests by their boss, Captain John O'Hagen, who warns them that they risk being shut down. They also torment the radio dispatcher, Rodney Farva, who has been suspended. While investigating a Winnebago, they encounter a woman who died from a drug overdose with a tattoo of a monkey. Once outside the trailer, the state troopers encounter their rivals, the local Spurbury police, with whom they compete for arrests.
When Foster and Womack pull over a truck for avoiding a weigh-station, they are locked inside while the driver flees. After Ramathorn and Rabbit rescue them, they find packages with stickers depicting the same monkey seen on the dead woman's tattoo. Foster begins a relationship with Spurbury PD officer Ursula Hanson and discovers marijuana hidden in the impounded Winnebago, bearing the same monkey sticker. Farva is reinstated to the force and becomes Ramathorn's partner. While at a restaurant, Farva attacks a cashier in retaliation for cutting a hole in his drink. Farva is arrested by the Spurbury police, where he receives a job offer from Police Chief Bruce Grady in exchange for information about the drug investigation, but Farva flippantly refuses. Farva is subsequently admonished and reprimanded by O'Hagan and demoted.
The Vermont governor travels to Spurbury for a press conference about the drug bust. Knowing that the Spurbury police will be involved with the governor's visit, Ramathorn and Foster break into the Spurbury police office to steal the Winnebago to present the marijuana as evidence. At the press conference, Chief Grady claims credit for the drug bust, despite it being the work of the State troopers. Foster thinks that Ursula revealed the location of the marijuana to her boss in exchange for a promotion. Having failed to increase arrests, the state troopers expect their unit to be shut down.
Back at the station, the state troopers find Farva dressed in a Spurbury PD uniform; Foster realizes that it was him, not Ursula, who betrayed the location of the marijuana. The troopers, including Captain O'Hagen, tie Farva to a toilet and drunkenly vandalize Chief Grady's house. Ursula offers to help them and directs them to one of the drug-running trucks. As they attempt to pursue it, they encounter Farva, who holds them at gunpoint. The state troopers convince Farva to help them in pursuing the drug runners and follow the truck to a nearby airfield. The state troopers see Chief Grady arrive, only to realize that the Spurbury police are working alongside the drug dealers. Using a sex doll on top of Farva's car, the state troopers distract the Spurbury police officers long enough to attack and arrest them. The governor sends Captain O'Hagen a letter thanking him for his efforts, but tells him that their station will still be shut down. Three months later, Ramathorn and Rabbit are delivering beer to a party hosted by teenagers. As the teenagers torment them, they reveal that they are undercover Spurbury police, having replaced all of the officers after the drug bust.

Cast

;Vermont State Troopers
;Spurbury Police Department
;Other Characters
Broken Lizard member Steve Lemme stated that the idea for the film came from road tripping to various weddings in his friend and fellow BL member Jay Chandraskhar's car and frequently getting pulled over by cops. As they were frequently under the influence of drugs, the gang began to wonder what would happen if the cops were aware of the situation and "had a sense of humor". Theorizing that if they did that they "could have fucked with us so much."
The syrup chugging scene was filmed in M's Cozy Corner located in Fishkill, New York, which has since closed.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 35% based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A more miss-than-hit affair, Super Troopers will most likely appeal to those looking for something silly." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film 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".

Box office

Overall, the film grossed $18.5 million in the United States and a total of $23.2 million worldwide. The film would eventually become a cult film with Esquire describing it as "shaggy-dog classic for Generation Y." It made $60 million from VHS, DVD and Blu-ray rentals, and as of December 2006 another $10.6 million from sales.

Soundtrack

  1. Trooper With an Attitude - 38 Special
  2. Geez Louise - The Unband
  3. Shoot First, Run Like Hell - Nashville Pussy
  4. Pass the Hatchet - Southern Culture on the Skids
  5. Big Bear - Steak
  6. Cheap Motels - Southern Culture on the Skids
  7. Cannot One Night Stand It - Jack Grace Band
  8. Bad Apples - Royal Fingerbowl
  9. Bidibodi Bidibu - The Bubbles
  10. Wrong Side of a Gun - Nashville Pussy
  11. Corn Rocket, The - Southern Culture on the Skids
  12. King of the Mountain - Southern Culture on the Skids
  13. Worm Farm - Jack Grace Band
  14. Second to the Bottle - Steak
  15. Pink Slip - The Unband
  16. Who's the King - Joseph Henry

    Awards

In 2001, Super Troopers won the Audience Award at the South By South West Film Competition. The film tied with Lady Porn and Wave Twisters.

Sequels

A sequel was funded partly through crowdfunding site Indiegogo, and was released in April 2018 with most of the main cast returning.