“Super Troopers” is a tale about five fun-loving Vermont State Troopers and their adventures in a small town. The movie is written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy team (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Eric Stolhanske). The film premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures for $3 million. Fox is considering a television spin-off based on the movie. Broken Lizard also produced the 1996 cult hit “Puddle Cruiser” which can be seen on the Sundance Channel.

The premise revolves around the imminent shutdown of a local Vermont State Trooper unit that is viewed as expendable by the Governor (Lynda Carter, “Wonder Woman”) due to a budget shortage. The local police are thrilled with this news and do whatever it takes to assure that the troopers are closed down, leaving the police as the sole law-enforcing body in the area. The troopers refuse to give in and aim to impress the Governor by proving that they are just as competent and integral as the police in protecting the town.

The film is not a typical comedy, which may frustrate some of the audience. It focuses more on situational humor rather than sight gags or one-liners. Its strengths are full development and exploitation of each character, unique banter between the actors and the humorous rivalry between the troopers and police. The weakness is that at times the film goes too long without an interesting happening, which slows the running pace. Overall, the picture is recommended for its originality, focus and dry wit.