Super Troopers (2001)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brian Cox

Features:

• Running audio commentary by Broken Lizard Comedy Team Members
  
• Outtakes
  
• Extended Scenes
  
• Alternate Ending
  
• Theatrical Trailer
  
• Road Trip Newswrap
  

The Vermont State Troopers office in Spurbury, VT has a problem: They are in danger of having their office shut down by the state. They are in constant battle with the local Spurbury Police Department for jurisdiction. When a huge homicide/drug bust falls into their laps, it presents them with the possibility to prove their worth to the governor and keep their office open.

I'm going to jump right to the point. Not one aspect of this movie is funny. With the exception of the character named Farva (Hefferman)--who's not quite right in the head, you might say--none of the characters are any different from the others. They tried to put some kind of redeeming aspects to the script, but the cast (who are the guys who wrote it) weren't able to pull it off. For example, in true Romeo and Juliet style, one of the Troopers falls in love with a female member of the local police force, but it just doesn't fit with the rest of the jerk-off and fart jokes. It seems like they tried to make a gross-out movie that would appeal to the masses and missed on both fronts. It moves really slowly; they spend too much time luxuriating in the bad jokes that they have written. The flow is somewhat backed up, if you know what I mean.

The DVD is riddled with problems as well. First of all, you have to ride the volume control because about every four minutes, they break into some kind of chase scene that has a very loud heavy-metal soundtrack. By the time you get the volume adjusted, the next scene has started and because you had to turn it down, you can't hear the dialogue. That's just the beginning...

The special features continue the problem motif. The presentation of the Outtakes and Extended Scenes are the most boring that I have ever seen on a DVD. They take way too much time between each take and to make matters worse, the scenes are not worth watching when you finally get to watch them. They are not even outtakes the way the term has been used for DVD features. They are simply unedited takes for a bunch of the scenes in the movie, not shots of the actors screwing up their lines or cracking themselves up, as you might expect. Granted, they are "takes" that are "out" of the movie--but still, it's a shame that's all there is to them. The featurette tries to take an "news expose" feel to the story, but it just doesn't work. And the interview sections with the cast members (in character) continue to be not funny.

There are two commetary tracks with the cast members. If they show us anything, it's that the cast members can be quite funny when they don't have to worry about boring stuff like plot. But beyond that, it's really just the guys getting another chance to be attempt to be humorous and talk about their movie. They don't say anything really worthwhile.

There is one other section of the DVD that I feel like I need to explain at the very least. Apparently, one of the promotional stunts for the film was putting the guys in a bus and having them tour around the country and do improvs with the unsuspecting public at various places around the country. The "Road Trip Newswrap" is coverage of that. The problem with it is there's not enough footage of them messing around with the public to make it worthwhile or amusing.

All in all, I'd advise you to just forget that this film was made, much less released on DVD.