Super Troopers 3

by Mike McGranaghan

Super Troopers began life as a scrappy indie comedy that broke out of the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Here we are, more than two decades later, and Broken Lizard’s creation is a full-fledged franchise now on its third chapter. At this point, you know what you’re going to get with these pictures. Super Troopers 3 delivers exactly what you expect, namely two hours of unapologetically crude, juvenile humor. As someone who greatly enjoyed the first two installments, I got what I wanted from this latest sequel.

There is a slight difference this time, as the story isn’t all crazy police work. Vermont cop Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar) is none too pleased to learn that his sister Sarita (Hannah Simone) is planning to marry brash colleague Rod Farva (Kevin Heffernan). Not wanting Farva to be his brother-in-law, he plots to stop the wedding, hopefully by humiliating the groom-to-be in front of their traditional Indian parents. Meanwhile, Mac (Steve Lemme), Foster (Paul Soter), and Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske) try to find out who’s responsible for a vandalism streak carried out against Canadian syrup trucks. SNL’s Andrew Dismukes plays a rookie cop on the force, and Brian Cox returns as Captain O’Hagan, who’s now retired but can’t seem to pry himself away from headquarters.

As in the first two films, the comedy style in Super Troopers 3 is lowbrow. Jokes revolve around drugs, sex talk, bodily functions, and, of course, maple syrup. A typical gag is the one where Farva is revealed to use “short and wide” condoms. Another involves Thorny sticking his arm up an elephant’s butt, expecting to find drugs stashed inside. Needless to say, the movie more than earns its R rating.

Not everything is that raunchy. Some of the funniest scenes have to do with the cops’ new patrol vehicle – an electric car that none of them are jazzed about. That bit ends with an inspired payoff involving Mac that finds Lemme at his comedic peak. I also laughed at Thorny’s attempts to derail the wedding, many of which entail trying to get Farva to come off in a racist manner. Chandrasekhar and Heffernan are particularly funny in this installment, bringing a devilish edge to their characters' rivalry.

The thing about the Broken Lizard guys is that they know how to do dumb humor the right way. They don’t make the audience feel smarter than or somehow above the material. Instead, they invite us into their skewered view, creating jokes around subjects we all find funny yet are often too polite to openly crack wise about, or subjects that are recognizable, like how much fun it can be to prank other people. Getting offended by the edgy hijinks is impossible because they’re carried out in such a collegial manner. Watching a Broken Lizard movie is similar to hanging out with your closest friends, the ones you know you can make off-color quips to.

Nothing can compare to the sense of discovery upon seeing the first Super Troopers. It was fresh and original at a time when cinematic comedy was threatening to grow soft. Super Troopers 3 intentionally doesn’t change the formula, and thank goodness. Studios dramatically slowed down on releasing comedy movies theatrically after the Covid pandemic. That’s starting to change. The Broken Lizard guys reminded me of how much fun it is to sit in a cinema and laugh like a lunatic.