Super Troopers (2001)

Movie · 2001 · Comedy, Crime, Mystery · 1h 40m · R · English

Curator score: 1.0/10 (119.3K ratings)

In their town, you don't screw with the law, the law screws with you.

Overview

Five bored, occasionally high and always ineffective Vermont state troopers must prove their worth to the governor or lose their jobs. After stumbling on a drug ring, they plan to make a bust, but a rival police force is out to steal the glory.

Ratings

Director

Jay Chandrasekhar

Production

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Broken Lizard Industries, Jersey Shore, Cataland Films, Árpád Productions

Cast

Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brian Cox, Daniel von Bargen, Marisa Coughlan, Lynda Carter, André Vippolis, Joey Kern, Geoffrey Arend, Camille Hickman, Aria Alpert Adjani, James Grace, Michael Weaver, Dan Fey, Jim Gaffigan, Chloe Kai O'Connor, Amy de Lucia

Where to watch

Hulu

Curator Review

Verdict

A very quotable, low-stakes cop comedy with strong ensemble chemistry and a goofy, stoner-friendly rhythm. The jokes land often enough to make it a cult favorite, but the plot is thin and the humor is broad, so it works best if you’re in the mood for dumb, amiable raunch rather than sharp satire.

Best for

  • fans of quotable ensemble comedies
  • viewers who like bro-y, absurdist humor
  • people nostalgic for early-2000s studio comedies
  • fans of police-parody movies with a laid-back tone

Skip if

  • you want tightly written mystery or crime plotting
  • you dislike juvenile, raunchy, or stoner-adjacent humor
  • you prefer polished satire over improvisational riffing
  • you’re sensitive to dated early-2000s comedy energy

Overview

Super Troopers is built almost entirely on chemistry, timing, and the confidence to keep a stupid joke going longer than it should. That approach gives it a scrappy charm: the state troopers feel like a real comedy troupe having fun together, and the movie’s best moments are the ones that let their personalities collide in increasingly ridiculous ways.

Worth noting

The downside is that the mystery-crime setup is mostly a skeleton for sketches, not a story with much momentum. If you come for the plot, it’s flimsy; if you come for the banter, the running bits, and the quotable nonsense, it delivers exactly what it promises.

Bottom line

It’s not the sharpest police parody, but it has enough personality to outlast its era for many viewers. The film’s appeal is less about cleverness than comfort: a dumb, rowdy hangout movie that knows its audience and rarely pretends to be anything else.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Jacky (1.5★) · 319 likes

We're never getting a sequel to The Nice Guys but people are demanding for THIS to get a sequel? Life isn't fair.

nick (3.5★) · 246 likes

Super Troopers ages pretty well for an early 2000s slapstick comedy, a sub-genre that's normally critically panned. It may not be as bonkers as EuroTrip, or quirky like Tom Green movies, but its gags mostly hold up thanks to a strong cast of goofy, bold personalities, whose chemistry alone is simply worth the watch. The plot is as generic as can be -- a group of state troopers on the verge of being disorganized due to government budget cuts are… more

Jade talks too much🎅🏻🎄 (4★) · 233 likes

“Okie silly dilly dokie-o. I'm an idiot.”😎 This is braindead bro-ey stoner humor & that will (perhaps unfortunately) always be my kinda thing💨🌿. I refuse to be ashamed of that😆 I’ve seen better stupid comedies but this still works for me🚔

Cameron Kanachki (4.5★) · 210 likes

Meow this is a stupidly almost perfect comedy.

Justin Peterson (3.5★) · 194 likes

"But our shenanigans are cheeky and fun! ... Yeah, and his shenanigans are cruel and tragic. Which ... makes them not really shenanigans at all. Evil shenanigans!" Laughed in the New Year with a couple of Broken Lizard movies. Super Troopers is not nearly as funny as I remember it being in High School, but it is still plenty of fun! "Bear... bearfucker, do you need assistance?" Here's wishing everyone plenty of cheeky and fun shenanigans in 2021. Thanks for reading.Happy movie watching ... Meow!

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Topics

buddy comedy, crime comedy, stoner humor, raunchy, ensemble cast, early 2000s, cult favorite, police parody, slapstick, roadside absurdity

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