Saturday Star

SILLY SEQUEL THAT REFUSES TO MATURE

- PAT PADUA

IN THE sequel Super Troopers

2, a highway patrolman (Kevin Heffernan) intentiona­lly shoots and kills a bald eagle.

That’s the level of satire in a lowbrow comedy so irreverent it could almost be considered a subversive indictment of law enforcemen­t, not to mention lowbrow humour. Almost, that is, if it were remotely funny.

The movie reunites most of the cast of the 2001 hit Super Troopers, including director

Jay Chandrasek­har (The Dukes of Hazzard), who co-wrote the film with fellow members of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, who play Vermont state troopers. Brian Cox returns as their grizzled captain, as does TV’S Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, reprising her role as the governor of Vermont.

The result of this reunion is a raunchier version of the original, one that rehashes much of the first film’s silly stoner aesthetic, including locker-room pranks, preoccupat­ion with male genitalia and a drug-smuggling sub-plot that, predictabl­y, gives the troopers a chance to sample contraband.

The funniest bit is a recurring joke involving a female hormone supplement called Flova Scotia (I know, I know, but it’s funnier than a dead eagle).

Rob Lowe appears in a cheeky cameo as the mayor of a small Canadian town, his regional accent not nearly as cliché as those attempted by other cast members.

While many movie sequels depict characters who have actually grown over time – Before Midnight, The Force Awakens and T2 Trainspott­ing come to mind – this one is stuck in permanent adolescenc­e. – Washington Post

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