'Super Troopers 2' [Blu-ray+DVD+Digital]
(Seann William Scott, Clifton Collins Jr., Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, et al / Blu-ray+DVD+Digital / R / 2018 / 20th Century Fox)
Overview: 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.
Blu-ray Verdict: The first 'Super Troopers' came out 17 years ago, and while the first movie is extremely funny, and the other Broken Lizard movies, like 'Beerfest' and 'The Slammin' Salmon' are also GENUINELY funny, this movie either tries too hard to be a rehash of the first, or the comedy just doesn't hold up the same over time.
So, yeah, there's a LOT of recycling of jokes and a LOT of low-hanging comedic fruit on offer ... but, you know what, it doesn't matter! It's still rather stupid-funny and I loved every dang second of it!
Most of the actors from the first one are back in action (although some merely in cameos), while the core cast includes returnees Brian Cox as Captain O'Hagen, Paul Soter as Jeff, Chandrasekhar as "Thorny", Steve Lemme as "Mack", Erik Stohlhanske as "Rabbit", and, of course, Kevin Heffernan as Rodney "Rod" Farva, the fat, obnoxious trooper the rest of his unit loves to hate.
Indeed, the French-Canadian send-ups are done well, and the Troopers fire up a good number of really goofy and, at times, side-splitting games. What was a decent surprise,as aforementioned, was how much solid material Farva got this time, after being the butt of about every joke in the original!
OK, sure, he's still awkward and a twat ("Who wants creme fraiche?"), but it balances out and becomes overall a lot more fun - for him and us, as fans.
The plot, I hear you ask? What about the plot? Well, as the action begins, this comically inept group of officers are ... former officers, having all been fired for an incident which took place in between movies and is only described verbally in this one (until an amusing payoff at the end of the movie)!
But Captain O'Hagen comes out of retirement and gets the band back together when an unusual opportunity arises for which this group of misfits is uniquely semi-qualified. It seems that a government reassessment of the exact border between U.S. and Canada has shown that one French-Canadian town is actually in the U.S. - and is very close the area where these super ridiculous members of the Vermont State Police used to "work".<>
The re-instated troopers are called upon to set up a Vermont State Highway patrol station in this soon-to-be added U.S. territory.
The troopers encounter plenty of challenges as they help the tiny Quebec town and its residents transition to being Americans. Besides the natural resistance of the life-long Canadians in the area, a prank-filled rivalry develops between the Super Troopers and a small trio of Canadian Mounties (Will Sasso, Tyler Labine and Hayes MacArthur).
The small town mayor, former Canadian ice hockey legend Guy Le Franc (Rob Lowe) seems amenable enough, and the beautiful Canadian government attaché Genevieve Aubois (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is as helpful as she can be, but the guys from Vermont are ... well, themselves - and as jingoistic as you'd expect them to be!
But matters get even more complicated when the guys stumble on evidence that there's more going on than simply correcting a border mistake. So, for those still not in the know, 'Super Troopers' rolls along the lines of 'Reno 911' with a dash of 'Dumb and Dumber' thrown in! Oh, and keep an eye out for the crazy opening sequence - which has to be seen to be believed! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
(Making) Super Troopers 2
Extended & Deleted Scenes
Kevin Heffernan: Method Actor
Theatrical Trailers
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