Super Troopers on DVD

In Super Troopers, Broken Lizard has done for highway patrolmen what National Lampoon did for fraternities in Animal House.

It's the same kind of humor, and is probably best enjoyed with beer and a group of friends.

A group of highway patrolmen spend their days goofing off and never really getting anything done. When they do pull someone over, it's for the wrong reasons. But either way, they have fun doing it. They're the laughingstock of the state, as the "real cops" of town are constantly showing them up.

But when a murder happens on their turf, the inept group has to work together and stop playing around in order to solve the murder and prevent their funding from being cut.

Broken Lizard is a group of college pals who decided to start a comedy troupe. Super Troopers is their first high-profile feature film. Made for around $3 million, it collected nearly $20 at the box office. Hopefully this will be a good enough reason for them to make more movies, since Super Troopers is pretty damn funny.

To make matters more interesting, we're not sure why it's funny. It just is. It's a group of guys doing stupid things and it makes us laugh. Maybe it reminds us of the days when we did stupid things (we call those "weekdays"), but whatever the reason, Super Troopers is more entertaining than a lot of the "comedies" coming out these days.

At 103 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome, but is long enough that you don't feel gypped.

So sit down with a group of your immature friends, pop open the beer and enjoy this mindless, pointless comedy.

Once again, Fox has provided a good DVD, realizing that even if the movie didn't gross $200 million, it still has fans that want a good disc.

Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the picture is pretty crisp. There is no grain or anything, but it is a little soft throughout most of the film. Considering the low budget, however, it's still pretty impressive.

The audio also is surprisingly good. Really, this movie does not even need a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, but it gets one anyway, and it is used quite effectively. Surrounds are used here and there, and the quality is perfectly clear. Count on Fox to give us what we want, even if we don't need it.

First on the extras list are two audio commentaries by Broken Lizard. The first features Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directed the film) and Eric Stolhanske, and the second features remaining Lizard members Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme and Paul Soter. There are also some outtakes and extended scenes, an alternate ending, a six-minute featurette, and the trailer.

Super Troopers, from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
103 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Broken Lizard, Brian Cox, Daniel Von Bargen and Marisa Coughlan
Produced by Richard Perello
Written by Broken Lizard, Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.

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