Super Troopers

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Super Troopers
Directed by	Jay Chandrasekhar
Produced by	Richard Johnson III
Written by	Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske
Starring	Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske Brian Cox Marisa Coughlan
Music by	.38 Special The Unband
Cinematography	Joaquín Baca-Asay
Editing by	Jay Chandrasekhar Jacob Craycroft Kevin Heffernan
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight
Release date(s)	January 19, 2001 at Sundance Film Festival February 15, 2002 in theaters
Running time	103 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$1,200,000

Super Troopers is a 2001 comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske). Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance. In total, Fox Searchlight paid $3.25 million for distribution rights of the film^[1] and grossed $18.5 million at the box office.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Filming 4 Critical reception 5 Soundtrack 6 Awards 7 Sequel 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The plot centers on five Vermont state troopers who seem to have more of a knack for pranks than actual police work. Most of their time is spent devising new ways of messing with the heads of the people they pull over and hazing the new recruit, "Rabbit". They also find time to torment their easily infuriated radio dispatcher, Rodney Farva, who has been exiled from patrol work because he was involved in a fight with several students during a (potentially questionable and dubious) traffic stop of a schoolbus, which is later revealed during the credits. Their days of pranking and slacking off are cut short when the troopers suddenly find themselves attempting to solve a murder, bust a drug-smuggling ring, and avoid having their post eliminated by the state's impending budget cut — resulting in their transfer, or quitting and opening up a roller disco.

The troopers have an ongoing rivalry with the local city, Spurbury, police department and constantly have fights with them ("highway cops versus the local cops"); one such dispute breaks out into an all-out fistfight, further increasing the station's chances of being shut down. The rivalry eventually results in the governor's (Lynda Carter) praise for the efforts of the Spurbury PD, who had managed to keep one step ahead of the state police by making their department appear responsible for the confiscation of the smuggled drugs. Defeated, the defrocked troopers unexpectedly stumble upon the scheme in which the local police are running protection for the aforementioned drug smugglers. The film's epilogue finds the highway post still eliminated due to the budget cuts; however, the troopers become the new officers of the Spurbury PD (replacing their presumably incarcerated corrupt predecessors) and thus free to continue their shenanigans in and around their jurisdiction.

[edit] Cast

State Troopers

• Jay Chandrasekhar as Lieutenant Arcot "Thorny" Ramathorn, a veteran of the Vermont State Police who is the second-in-command of his barracks. Although he is the most serious of the field officers in his station, he has no inhibitions against bending the rules and playing pranks if he knows they will not result in any serious repercussions. He is in an open relationship with his son's mother Bobbi, who owns a head shop. At one point, they swing with a German couple in the troopers' custody for auto theft. His ethnicity remains a point of confusion and humor for the others who confuse him for a Mexican, Arab-American and an African-American rather than the Indian-American that he is.
• Paul Soter as Jeff Foster, arguably the most calm and reserved trooper of the force. He engages in a relationship with a Spurbury Police officer, Ursula, during the movie and, with her help, ultimately uncovers the corruption of the other Spurbury PD officers. He is often mocked by his coworkers for his inability to grow a moustache.
• Steve Lemme as MacIntyre "Mac" Womack, the trooper who enjoys pranks the most. He is called a "sick mother fucker" by Captain O'Hagen because of the extremes to which he is willing to go. Mac is also the most expressive of the troopers, whether verbally ridiculing Farva for his lame tricks or nearly taking out his anger over the closing of the station through violence against Foster. Mac is the proud owner of a costume that looks like a hunter having sex with a bear.
• Erik Stolhanske as Robert "Rabbit" Roto, the newest addition to the force. He is partnered with Lt. Ramathorn until he is caught speeding in a car confiscated as stolen property and temporarily relegated to dispatch; however, he is later reinstated due to another trooper's actions. He is often accused by Farva of knowing more about drugs than he should and is accused of having toured with the Grateful Dead when he was younger. Although the new guy and rookie of the team, Rabbit is noticeably more accepted by and welcome in the group by the others than Farva, a source of contention with the latter.
• Kevin Heffernan as Rodney "Rod" Farva, a fat, loud, obnoxious and arrogant radio operator. He is almost always under suspension from field work, relegated to perennial dispatch, due to his inability to control his anger. His pranks (shenanigans) are often described as "cruel and tragic" rather than "cheeky and fun" making them not simply "shenanigans", but "evil shenanigans" and is quick to use vulgarity when dealing with an elderly couple(who are his real-life parents and didn't know exactly what he was going to say), believing that is the kind of behavior the other troopers display on traffic stops. He advocates the naming of his patrol car with Ramathorn as "Car RamRod."
• Brian Cox as Captain John O'Hagen, the commander of his Vermont State Trooper barracks. He acts as a mentor to his troopers and tries his best to keep the station from being cut from the budget. He is a two-time boxing champion in the Navy and is derided by Farva for his choice in dress as wearing a "Canadian Tuxedo", an outfit made completely from denim. Brian Cox is also the only actor to play a trooper who is not a member of the Broken Lizard troupe.

Spurbury Police

• Daniel von Bargen as Police Chief Bruce Grady
• Marisa Coughlan as Officer Ursula Hanson
• James Grace as Officer Rando
• Micheal Weave as Officer Smy
• Dan Fey as Officer Burton

Other cast (in order of appearance)^[2]

• Andre Vippolis as College Boy 1
• Joey Kern as College Boy 2
• Geoffrey Arend as College Boy 3
• Amy de Lucia as Bobbi
• Philippe Brenninkmeyer as German Man
• Maria Tornberg as German Woman
• Blanchard Ryan as Casino La Fantastique Sally
• Charlie Finn as Dimpus Burger Guy
• Lynda Carter as Governor Jessman

[edit] Filming

"Local Cop" scenes were mainly filmed in the City of Beacon, and the "Highway Cop" scenes were filmed on New York State Route 117 and the Taconic State Parkway both in Westchester County, New York in the towns of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor^{[citation needed]}, with Rockefeller State Park Preserve, which runs parallel, used as well. The syrup chugging scene was filmed in M's Cozy Corner located in Fishkill, NY which has since closed and been replaced by a pharmacy. The pharmacy closed in 2007 due to flooding.^[3] The opening scene involving the white Mazda Miata was shot at a pub called the Golden Rail in Newburgh, NY. The bar is located right off New York State Route 32 (North Plank Road) and is not far from the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and the Town of Fishkill and the City of Beacon - where other scenes were also shot for the film. The reception scene was filmed at the Villa Borghese (a catering hall) in Wappingers Falls, NY, near Poughkeepsie, NY.

[edit] Critical reception

The film has received mixed reviews from critics, greeted warmly by some and panned by others. Aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes scores only 35%^[4] positive reviews while Metacritic, another aggregate review website, gives it a metascore of 48 out of 100,^[5] which, according to the website's rating system, scores as Mixed or average reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film 2½ stars out of 4, saying "I can't quite recommend it — it's too patched together — but I almost can; it's the kind of movie that makes you want to like it".^[6]

Overall, the film grossed $18,492,362 in the United States and $23,182,223 worldwide.^[7]

[edit] Soundtrack

1. Trooper With an Attitude - 38 Special
2. Geez Louise - The Unband
3. Shoot First, Run Like Hell - Nashville Pussy
4. Pass the Hatchet - Southern Culture on the Skids
5. Big Bear - Steak
6. Cheap Motels - Southern Culture on the Skids
7. Cannot One Night Stand It (Anymore) - Jack Grace Band
8. Bad Apples - Royal Fingerbowl
9. Bidibodi Bidibu - The Bubbles
10. Wrong Side of a Gun - Nashville Pussy
11. Corn Rocket, The - Southern Culture on the Skids
12. King of the Mountain - Southern Culture on the Skids
13. Worm Farm - Jack Grace Band
14. Second to the Bottle - Steak
15. Pink Slip - The Unband
16. Who's the King (You Know That's Me) - Joseph Henry

^[8]

[edit] Awards

In 2001 Super Troopers won the Audience Award at the South By South West Film Competition. The movie tied with Lady Porn (2001) and Wave Twisters (2001).^[9]

[edit] Sequel

At the 2006 Comic-Con Convention in San Diego, California, Broken Lizard revealed that a prequel for the film was in the works which would take place in the 1970s and follow the fathers of the main characters in the original film.^[10] Jay Chandreskhar told Rotten Tomatoes, "The joke is that we'll make it Super Troopers '76, set during the bicentennial." "We'll have a little shaggier hair and mustaches...We might do it, I don't know. That movie has sort of a special place in a lot of people's hearts, so all we can do is mess it up."^[11]

However, in a January 2009 interview with MovieWeb.com, Paul Soter and Jay Chandrasekhar revealed that the movie would be a sequel. Chandrasekhar stated "We pick up the story essentially right were we left off. Maybe about three months later. We are all working undercover for the lumber industry. What has happened is that there are all of these eco-terrorists that are trying to blow up the lumber mills. And we are there working as security."^[12] Soter added to that: "The big picture is that we are on the Canadian Border. And in reality, what has happened is that the government has found places where the markers were off, or wrong. And there are these areas of land that were thought to be Canada, but are actually part of the US. We are enlisted to patrol this area that was always thought to be Canadian soil. But no, it is actually the United States. We are enlisted because they have to send someone there to help make it part of the US territory now. We get recruited to be the highway patrolmen there. And we are surrounded by all of these Canadian people that aren't happy about this. We essentially have to impose US law on a bunch of Canadians that aren't at all happy about it."

In November 2009, Broken Lizard revealed that they had finished three drafts of the sequel's screenplay and that independent financiers had agreed to finance the movie. They also revealed that the character of Captain O'Hagan was part of the screenplay and that actor Brian Cox was planning on returning to the role.^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Super Troopers

• Super Troopers at the Internet Movie Database
• Super Troopers at Allmovie
• Super Troopers at Rotten Tomatoes
• Super Troopers at Box Office Mojo
• Broken Lizard at MySpace

v • d • e Broken Lizard Films Puddle Cruiser (1996) · Super Troopers (2001) · Club Dread (2004) · Beerfest (2006) · The Slammin' Salmon (2009) · The Babymaker · Super Troopers 2 Members Jay Chandrasekhar · Kevin Heffernan · Steve Lemme · Paul Soter · Erik Stolhanske

v • d • e Films directed by Jay Chandrasekhar 1990s Puddle Cruiser (1996) 2000s Super Troopers (2001) · Club Dread (2004) · The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) · Beerfest (2006)