Nostalgia is running high this week because the aviator-clad, moustached Vermont State Troopers are back on patrol in Super Troopers 3. Cast your mind back to 2001, when the original cult classic introduced us to a gang of prank-loving highway officers stumbling onto drug rings, which eventually led to their 2018 crowd-funded Canadian border sequel. After years of scripting and surviving studio shifts, the Broken Lizard crew, featuring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, is back alongside franchise staple Brian Cox as the foul-mouthed Captain O’Hagen, with fresh recruits like Chace Crawford and Hannah Simone joining the madness.
This time around, the plot hits dangerously close to home when the perpetually obnoxious Rodney Farva gets wildly engaged to Thorny’s sister. As cultural and emotional chaos ensues, Thorny goes to extreme lengths to sabotage the wedding while the rest of the squad tries to crack a perilous new drug ring. It’s a premise that gives the movie a vague narrative anchor and a decent enough reason to bring the Troopers back for a third round.
Walking into this film expecting high-brow cinema means you’ve clearly hit your head on the steering wheel, because it lives and dies by rapid-fire, juvenile gags. Expect almost constant dick jokes, some genuinely good car chases and a thin side plot about AI in cars.
Fortunately, the core five’s chemistry remains bulletproof, sliding back into their tight uniforms like they never left. While a few jokes definitely speed past the punchline and crash into the guardrail, the sheer nostalgic comfort makes it a patrol-car-pooling success for existing fans. Newcomers might struggle to enjoy what should be a straight to streaming sequel that no one really asked for. It might not arrest the box office, but for fans of the original ride, it’s an easy ticket to fun.
– The Plus Ones
