Director Jay Chandrasekhar
Genre Comedy | Crime | Mystery
Cast Brian Cox, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
Rating R
Release Date April 20th, 2018
“When a border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the Super Troopers are tasked with establishing a Highway Patrol station in the disputed area.”
Co-written and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers, Dukes of Hazzard, Beer Fest), who also stars in both films, Super Troopers 2 is the follow-up to the 2001 film that quickly became a cult classic. Super Troopers embraced the goofy over the top mentality and it worked extremely well. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel for what seems like an eternity and the time has finally come. The cast includes Brian Cox, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, and Steve Lemme, Rob Lowe, and Tyler Labine.
Gimmicky and severely outdated, Super Troopers 2 relies heavily on nostalgia and under the influence viewers- yet still falls on its face. I did my due diligence and consumed the necessary amount of beer prior to my arrival at the local movie theater, yet I was still disappointed. I was a huge fan of the original Super Troopers- I mean sure it was goofy and over-the-top, but it was fun and entertaining. Let’s face the facts, 2001 was a VERY different time. I was a sophomore in high school jacked up on Code Red Mountain Dew, spending the vast majority of my free time eating chips and dip and playing Madden for hours on end. That was my life, and I thought Super Troopers was EPIC. Fast forward 17 years (Wow, that is crazy to put in perspective!) and needless to say, times have changed a bit. The gags that worked back then are simply played out and really not all that effective anymore. Super Troopers 2 had some funny parts, but they were few and far between, and most of the bargain basement gags were dragged on WAYYYYYYY too long.
And just to give you a clear vision of my Super Troopers 2 experience, the entire theater smelled like they just ran over a skunk (yes, I know what that means), and on the way out of the theater I was impressed by the fact that some of them were still able to navigate their way out even though their eyes were literally completely closed. Now to touch on my next point, the aforementioned “target audience” lost their minds during the dumbest scenes in the film. I mean really?! WTF did they find to be so funny? Full disclosure, I lost some faith in humanity that night. To get back on track, the writing felt painfully lazy and I truly believe I could have put together a better script in 2 hours, maybe 3. Where was all of the controversy?! I expected the film to push the envelope at times considering today’s climate, but that was really non-existent. Sure, they made fun of Canada every chance they got, but who really cares about Canada to the point where it’s groundbreaking to crack a few jokes about how much they love hockey and real maple syrup on their pancakes? I just don’t get it. Perhaps my expectations were too high (I really didn’t expect that much), but honestly all I wanted to see was a continuation of the first film. Super Troopers 2 tried to take things in another direction, and I myself was very disappointed.
The cast for Super Troopers 2 is clearly the biggest strength of the film and the primary reason why fans and casual viewers made their way to the theater. The cast from the original returns for the sequel, including Brian Cox, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, and Steve Lemme. A few notable additions include Rob Lowe and Tyler Labine, a veteran actor who has flown mostly under the radar. Now, in no way shape or form do I blame the cast for this disappointing sequel, because I do feel like they were energic and really did their best. The fact of the matter is they simply weren’t given the tools to succeed. I guess that really is a tale as old as time right? Fans will welcome the return of Mac, Rabbit, Thorny, Foster, and last but not least the fat dummy Farva. I just wish we had the chance to see what this crew was really capable of. Rob Lowe was a nice addition and did add to the humor on the Canadian side of things, but when it was all said and done the actors at their disposal simply weren’t used properly.
Super Troopers 2 is absolutely a letdown after a long wait for a sequel that really should have come out years ago, and that fact is simple undeniable. Perhaps viewers that walk into the theater not really expecting much may leave fulfilled, but then again maybe not. So why are we spending gas money and buying overpriced tickets if the film is direct-to-Netflix at best? I watched Game Over, Man! on Netflix recently which is essentially the movie version of Workaholics, and the quality level is pretty much on par. Super Troopers 2 may be worth a trip to the theater for hardcore fans but others should wait for the rental- trust me, you won’t be missing much. When it hits Blu-ray/DVD maybe I will go out on a limb and grab a 12 pack of Code Red and some chips and dip and see what happens, couldn’t hurt right? Uh, on second thought, maybe not. I’ll just end up playing Madden all night instead.
