Harking back to those good-natured-yet-rude 1980s comedies (Caddyshack anyone?), this entertainingly goofy film keeps us laughing while keeping its characters real; there's not a whiff of knowing postmodern cynicism anywhere.

It's about a group of practical joking Vermont State Troopers (captain Cox, leader Chandrasekhar, loverboy Soter, moron Heffernan, rookie Stolhanske and madman Lemme), fighting to keep their jobs amid statewide budget crunches. They try to be serious about their work, but find that rather difficult ... and pointless. But they also know they need to outsmart the local police chief (Von Bargen) if they want to preserve their careers. And stumbling upon a marijuana smuggling operation couldn't happen at a better time.

The five writer-actors work under the name Broken Lizard, and their ensemble performance is hilarious, bouncing off each other perfectly with offhanded humour and big jokes that hit the mark simply because they never stretch the realms of credibility (much). The plot itself is virtually irrelevant, but at least it doesn't insult the intelligence as it provides a framework to let the actors cut loose with their zany antics.

Some of this isn't nearly as funny as the performers obviously thought it was, although there's a wonderfully warped undercurrent that peeks out every now and then. The film is very slight and forgettable, never even attempting the feel of a classic comedy. It merely tries to keep us chuckling for 101 minutes. And that it does.

themes, language, innuendo, drugs

2.Aug.02

Review by Rich Cline |

Some 16 years after the first film, those Broken Lizard chuckleheads are back with a new adventure. While they are showing their age, they are just as ridiculous as always, deploying snarky wordplay and physical nuttiness to take our minds off the simplistic plot. This time around, they also have some impressive up-for-it costars and cameos to keep us chuckling. Although the whole US vs Canada premise doesn't exactly break new ground.

After having been sacked for misbehaving, the squad (Chandrasekhar, Heffernan, Lemme, Soter and Stolhanske) is reinstated by Captain O'Hagen (Cox) to help assist with the handover of a small corner of Canada that turns out to actually be part of Vermont. So they establish a trooper headquarters there and immediately lock horns with the local Mounties (MacArthur, Labine and Sasso). An escalating series of raucous pranks ensues.

This is resolutely low-brow cinema, honing in on bodily functions and male genitalia, but this group's brand of comedy has an offhanded approach that almost feels grounded, even as everything remains seriously silly. Lowe's shifty local mayor is cartoonishly hilarious, as is Carter's gung-ho governor. And an array of well-known faces pop up here and there, including Clifton Collins Jr, Damon Wayans Jr, Seann William Scott, Jim Gaffigan, Paul Walter Hauser and Fred Savage. Clearly they just wanted to join in on the fun. So if it all kind of fizzles out in the end, we don't mind too much. And the gap until the third film is only eight years.

themes, language, innuendo, nudity

2.Aug.26