Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n
A quarter of a century is a long time for mustache rides and syrup binges, but \u201cSuper Troopers\u201d has gotten a lot of mileage out of the simple joys of friends goofing around. <\/p>\n
The comedy troupe Broken Lizard, a group of college buddies who began performing together at Colgate University, broke through with 2001’s \u201cSuper Troopers.\u201d Made for less than $3 million, the movie cast Jay Chandrasekhar (who directed), Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske as a group of juvenile Vermont<\/a> state troopers. A then-Emmy-less Brian Cox<\/a> played their cantankerous chief. <\/p>\n The movie became an unlikely cult hit, making many times over what it made in theaters ($23 million) on VHS<\/a> and DVD. Roger Ebert begrudgingly called it \u201cthe kind of movie that makes you want to like it.\u201d <\/p>\n Not all movies look like they were fun to make, but \u201cSuper Troopers\u201d did. For Broken Lizard, the difference between the movie and the blooper reel is almost nonexistent. It’s like they’re living out the dream of every group of funny college pals. <\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about that being almost like the special sauce in the movies. You can\u2019t fake 30 years of friendship. Even the best actors can\u2019t do it,\u201d Soter says before his fellow members make him question that declaration. <\/p>\n \u201cOK, maybe Al Pacino could fake it.\u201d <\/p>\n Broken Lizard has kept at it, making half a dozen other movies. In the intervening years, big-screen comedy has grown all but dead, so it hasn’t always been easy. They resorted to crowdfunding to help finance 2018’s \u201cSuper Troopers 2.\u201d <\/p>\n But with \u201cSuper Troopers 3,\u201d which Searchlight Pictures will release Aug. 7, they’re back again in aviator sunglasses, broad-brimmed hats and, of course, mustaches. Alongside big-budget blockbusters like \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d and \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d \u201cSuper Troopers 3\u201d will try to hold onto its narrow stretch of highway. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a show-business miracle to be able to make eight or nine movies with your friends from college,\u201d says Chandrasekhar. \u201cWe certainly never thought it could get this far.\u201d<\/p>\n A comedy franchise built on speeding tickets <\/p>\n \u201cSuper Troopers\u201d wasn’t the first movie Broken Lizard made. In 1996, they released \u201cPuddle Cruiser,\u201d a comedy shot entirely on Colgate’s campus. It didn’t get distribution, so their only real hope for \u201cSuper Troopers\u201d was that it play somewhere, anywhere. Around then, the quintet was performing in New York<\/a> and touring college campuses. Road trips inspired the movie. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were getting pulled over a lot. You talk a lot of smack when you see the cops,\u201d Lemme says. \u201cBut the second they pull up to the car, you\u2019re immediately in butt-kissing mode. We always wondered what the cops were thinking, if they knew how much power they had over us and how much they could screw with us.\u201d<\/p>\n