Super Troopers 2 ( dir. Jay Chandrasekhar)

Sequel's to bad films are so transparently motivated by financial gain, it’s a wonder why people aren’t surprised when they eventually turn out to be nothing more than a tawdry exercise in mundanity. A sequel to the cult 2001 hit, "Super Troopers 2" was perhaps inevitable because of the original's $23 million domestic haul (on a $2 million budget) and it's frat-boy fascination. Though strangely for a film which isn't afraid to take itself too seriously, this long-awaited law-enforcement satire is a tragic disappointment, and devoid of any rational form of comedy. Though it's undeniable that offerings like this, which clearly have one-eye on dorm room co-eds, care less about plot development or character than it's target audience care about wearing practical footwear, the team behind this B-movie schlock waste a terrific opportunity at subverting the stoner-comedy stereotype by forcing you to watch a 105-minute comedy routine from "The Broken Lizard Comedy Team"; a bunch of men who really should know better. The original 2001 offering has been fermenting on the perennial pot-heads subconscious the best part of two decades now, and everything from it's famous "meow" game to it's assorted obnoxious character comedy is old news. Plus, everyone can smoke weed legally now in most places, so there's even more call for a second helping, right? But don't worry; a studio head isn't to blame for this. As, through the auspices of "crowdsourcing" (Kickstarter campaigns) and it's generous cult fan stardom, "Super Troopers 2" exists because the money says it has too, and as it would appear, because it's cast need something to do.

Returning to the screen are our hapless law-enforcement highway-patrolman of the title: Veteran "Thorny" (Jay Chandrasekhar), fellow trooper "Foster" (Paul Soter), prank-artist "Mac" (Steve Lemme), rookie "Rabbit" (Erik Stolhankse), obnoxious oaf and dispatch-man "Farva" (Kevin Heffernan) and Captain O'Hagen (Brian Cox), who have been unceremoniously fired after a celebrity ride-along went awry (seen in the end credits scene in disastrously unfunny fashion); yet Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) feels it necessary to re-team the group for a special operation, one only their particular set of skills can accomplish. In the most convoluted plot device seen of late, it appears that a subset of Canada actually belongs to the US, so our boys head over there to broker the peaceful exchange of territory- or at least, this is the set up for the ensuing nonsense.

Awaiting them across the border is there Canadian law-enforcement cousins; Tyler Labine as Mountie Bellefuille, Will Sasso as Mountie Archambault, Hayes MacArthur as Mountie Podien, plus the affable, fun-loving Quebec Mayor Guy Le Franc (Rob Lowe), as well as their cultural attaché Genevieve Aubois (Emmaneulle Chriqui).

Most of the "acting" leans heavily on a sub-Police Academy satire, or poking fun at the way Canadians talk - with a dash of "Make America Great Again" satire thrown into the mix here and there. Take it from me, none of the cast are here to make art; all appear on screen long-enough to embarrass themselves and presumably pick up the cheque. Instantly forgettable set-pieces range from shaving a man's scrotum, to shooting a bald eagle out of the sky and of course, ingesting illegal pharmaceuticals. To it's credit however, the odd North American banter is passably amusing, the highlight being a quick-aside from the Canadian mounties "maybe you could be stupid like us and not believe in evolution, have free healthcare and sensible gun control) -before a terribly asinine sub-plot revolving drug smuggling is introduced (if you can’t see where it’s going from mile off, maybe that particular batch is more potent than you anticipated) - though the filmmakers are merely buying time to orchestrate more toilet-humor. Of course the majority of the "Super Troopers" main outfit -except for the always watchable Brian Cox - have found little success since it's original entry, and it’s not hard to see why. In particular is Farva (Kevin Heffernan), perhaps the least humorous movie character ever seen on camera, who makes Paul Blart or anyone of Eddie Murphy's characters feel like a breath of fresh air. But he's the least of the problems, as "Super Troopers 2" is lazy, self-indulgent hippy nonsense, which doesn’t belong in the cinema; if you’re not of the particular stoner mentality, and like me would rather get "high on life" -or even a good film now and then- head west to the adjacent theatre and pick out something, heck, anything other than this juvenile bilge.

Rating 1/5