How many penis jokes can you fit into a film? SUPER TROOPERS 2 tries to answer the question by pushing the subject to the max (that’s not a euphemism). The male parts get kicked, tasered, threatened of being shaved, discussed ad nauseam, and even boxed. Why they are the centerpiece of so many jokes could be analyzed on a deeper level, but that would require giving these jokes more thought than The Broken Lizard crew gave the script.
The lazy script – attributed to the entire Broken Lizard collective – doesn’t just reach for such low hanging fruit when it comes to genitalia, farts, and sex, but also in the way of making fun of Canadians. In fact, that’s the majority of the film. After a fantastical and amusing opening sequence that features a couple of cameos, the state troopers from Vermont head North across the border in order to help monitor the highways of an area that may actually be part of the United States instead of Canada. The whole crew (Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, and Jay Chandrasekhar) led by Captain O’Hagan (Brian Cox) must now work alongside Canadian Mounties. As one would expect, lots of pancakes, French-Canadian accents, and hockey jokes come flying left and right. Sooorrrrrry.
One of the saving graces of the Canadian joke storm is Rob Lowe, who serves as the town’s mayor and owner of a hockey bar and brothel. The goofy, overly-nice Canadian schtick he’s doing mainly works. A few other skits land as well, one of which is an over-extended argument about Danny Devito that somehow made it into the film despite it feeling like a deleted scene. Because it comes out of left field compared to other obvious one-liners, it feels fresh. The same can be said about the absolutely ridiculous opening scene. In a way, when the skits fall back on the AIRPLANE! formula is when they work the best. In a film littered with cheap sex jokes and nods to the original film, it’s the far-fetched moments that catch you completely off guard and make the biggest maple syrup-drenched splash.
The fact that the film’s marketing is heavily advertising the fact that the film is coming out on 4/20 is an indication of the mindset the audience should be in to fully appreciate this reunion. The Broken Lizard troupe has had some minor highs in the past with the original film and the underrated slasher comedy, CLUB DREAD (one of Bill Paxton’s finest roles, if I do say so). However, SUPER TROOPERS 2 doesn’t venture too far off the familiar and formulaic path. Your love of the characters will only go so far as you settle in for a trip that feels even more like amateur nonsense than the first time.
Overall Score: 2 out of 5
SUPER TROOPERS 2 opens in theaters on Friday, April 20th
