Super Troopers

An enjoyable caper revolving around the lives of five Vermont state troopers, Super Troopers finds the Men in Beige (a quintet of actors comprising Broken Lizard Productions, whose Jay Chandrasekhar also directed) goofing their way through highway duties in such a lackadaisical manner as to eventually attract the negative notice of their superiors. Fearful of having their division shut down (plan B is to open up a roller disco), the troopers stumble into a complicated murder/drug crime case which they hope to solve and thereby impress the big boys. With less than Holmesian acuity, they struggle to uncover clues while constantly brawling with their archenemy, the local police department, with whom they have recurring territorial beefs. Between pranks on rookie Rabbit, a love connection between a trooper and a cop, and the jokes that the troopers play (name-calling citizens, seeing who can say "meow" the most times during a stop, etc.), the laughs here are reasonably consistent. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include commentaries from Broken Lizard members; the six-minute featurette "Road Trip News Rap" with the cast goofing off and stopping at colleges and universities to screen the film and answer questions; an extensive collection of outtakes and extended scenes (including a 16-minute outtake reel that features syrup chugging!), and an alternate ending that finds the gang undercover at a meat-packing plant. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a reasonably entertaining comedy.] (J. Williams)[Blu-ray Review—Jan. 6, 2009—Fox, 100 min., R, $34.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2002's Super Troopers boasts a fine transfer and a DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. Blu-ray extras that also appear on the previous DVD release include two audio commentaries (the first with director/co-writer/costar Jay Chandrasekhar and co-writer/costar Erik Stolhanske; the second with co-writers/costars Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, and Paul Soter), 42 minutes of outtakes and extended scenes with optional commentary, a production featurette (6 min.), a “Road Trip News Wrap” on the promo tour (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a picture-in-picture commentary track with all five Broken Lizard members, and a “Stupor Troopers” trivia drinking game. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray release of a popular comedy.]