Super Troopers 3
review by Bobby Blakey
One of my favorite comedies of all time is Broken Lizards 2001 cult classic Super Troopers. I have seen that movie hundreds of times and it never gets old. In 2018 they finally got the band back together for Super Troopers 2 but seemed like that was the end of the fun. Thankfully they are turning on the lights once again for Super Troopers 3. Both original and cast are getting in on the fun including Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brian Cox, Marisa Coughlan, Nat Faxon, Chace Crawford, Andrew Dismukes, Hannah Simone, Iqbal Theba, Sakina Jaffrey, Jon Rudnitsky, Lisa Gilroy and Jay Chandrasekhar who also directs.
Super Troopers 3 follows Farva’s wildly over-the-top Indian engagement to Thorny’s sister that spirals into chaos, the Super Troopers must navigate Thorny’s schemes to break up the relationship, while trying to crack a pernicious new drug ring — all to save the day and maybe the wedding itself.
It goes without saying that part of what made the original film so great outside of the brilliant timing and writing was the unexpected nature of what you were walking into. The second film kept the formula alive and while not every joke hit, they still managed to deliver plenty of laughs and fun. The obvious concern here is can they hit the mark again and the answer is yes and no.
We know these guys inside and out, some literally so going in you have plenty of preconceived notions of where it might go with this story. Once again, they rehash the drug conspiracy which falls into the if it’s not broken don’t fix it while wrapping it in the story of Favra’s wedding and a smaller story dealing with a new electric police cruiser. The car story is where it failed for me as it is timely and has some laughs, but it leaned too much into it and felt forced at times.
Of course, they wanted to give them a case to work like both previous films, so it wasn’t surprising to go this route once again and it worked fine, but nothing new was added here. The wedding story is the focal point and probably should have been the solo idea so they could flesh out the jokes a bit more. I still laughed out loud plenty of times, but some of the jokes fell flat, mostly trying to live up the legacy of the original film.
For me the film delivers mostly due to the nostalgia and my love of all these guys, but I can also see how it might disappoint others. As a big fan of Kevin Heffernan’s Favra he is on full display and is the kind of character that can wear thin fast to most people. Trying to buy into this relationship is ridiculous and kind of the point. We have seen this kind of thing before with the misfit winning everyone’s hearts, but his chaotic energy and pompous behavior will make it hard for fairweather viewers to really embrace. There is a moment at the end of the film that does make it clear why they work together that I thought was funny and a good addition to an ongoing gag from Favra in the previous films.
Per usual there are some twists in this tale with both being easy to figure out so its not all that surprising. Despite not always working the evolution of the characters, especially that of previous rookie Rabbit getting upgraded and the Chief now retired makes it feel like they pushed things forward without losing the ability to lean into some of the old running gags. There are a few callbacks to some of the iconic dialogue that does feel like it is forced in, but it is still hard not to be entertained by it.
In the end this is the weakest entry to the trilogy so far but still works for the most part. As mentioned, I love these guys and will continue to watch anything they do, but it won’t work for everyone. There is a gag about a fourth film that I would gladly watch, but it also is a good cap to the unnecessary continuation of the comedy classic.
Decide for yourself and head back out on patrol with Super Troopers 3 in theaters now from Searchlight Pictures
