The officers of the Spurbury Police Department have been fired after the debacle of the last movie, and are now working menial jobs. They’re given a chance to win back their badges by setting up a police department in an area of Canada that has been declared the property of America. They don’t do it very well.
★★★
Firstly, you will be completely fine if you did not see the first Super Troopers. This is not a complicated saga. The first came out a massive 17 years ago, a comedy about Vermont state troopers who were absolutely useless at their job but very good at winding each other up. It was badly reviewed but a modest box office success and gradually built a cult following. This sequel is largely the result of a crowdfunding campaign, and it’s certainly not made to win over stuffy critics, but it’s hard not like its dumb, ebullient brand of comedy.
The troopers in question (played by Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske and Kevin Heffernan) were all fired at the end of the last movie, but are brought back together to police an area of Canada that, it has been discovered, actually belongs to America. Cue some jokes about how America sees itself versus how the rest of the world sees it, plus a very bizarre plot about drug smugglers.
The entire lead cast, all around the age of 50, is definitely old enough that they shouldn’t be so enthused by fart gags and knob jokes, but enthused they are, and it’s infectious. They’re fully committed to every ridiculous joke, and for the most part laughing at themselves rather than others. If the thought of Rob Lowe playing a gormless mayor with the worst Canadian accent imaginable appeals, or you think you’d like to see Brian Cox screaming in fury because someone interrupted him doing some country and western karaoke, then this is for you. If neither of those images even registers the hint of a smile then go and see absolutely anything else.
A sequel nobody needed, and very few demanded, but one that is nice to have anyway. Very daft and very childish and mostly very funny.
