All 3 Super Troopers Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

When most people attempt to form a comedy troupe in college, it inevitably fizzles out when everyone goes their separate ways. The same can't be said for the Broken Lizard boys, who continue to make people laugh since their formation at Colgate University in 1989. For over three decades, the over-the-top antics of founding members Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, and Kevin Heffernan have ensured their legacy as cult comedy sensations across film and television.

Broken Lizard's brand of comedy often lies within the natural camaraderie they share with one another. It's oddly sweet in spite of all the gross and sophomoric nature of the jokes they write together. While "Club Dread," "Beerfest," and "The Slammin' Salmon" have their devoted niche fanbases, it's safe to say that "Super Troopers" is what put them on the map.

The 2001 comedy follows a bunch of clueless state troopers patrolling the roads of the fictional town of Spurbury, Vermont — or at least trying, whenever they're not occupied with entertaining themselves. While successful in theaters, "Super Troopers" truly became a cult hit once it hit home media. If fans wanted to relive their favorite meowments with their friends, they could meow do so in the comfort of their home. That fervor ensured that this very silly early 2000s comedy (which critics initially got wrong at the time) would, surprisingly, become a decades-spanning trilogy.

It's almost difficult to rank all three "Super Troopers" movies in any kind of order because they share a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses, let alone plot structures. But here at Looper, we answer the call anyways. Without further ado, let's see which of these is the ultimate Trooper in comedy.

In what is sure to be a controversial decision among the diehards, we have the original "Super Troopers" in last place. This doesn't make it a bad movie per se, so much as the other two films provide more sustainable laughs within its story.

The inaugural outing of Arcot "Thorny" Ramathorn (Jay Chandrasekhar), Carl Foster (Paul Soter), MacIntyre "Mac" Womack (Steve Lemme), Robbie "Rabbit" Roto (Erik Stolhanske), and Rodney "Rod" Farva (Kevin Heffernan) establishes their mischievous spirit while out on patrol. Considering nothing interesting really happens on the roads of Spurbury, they have to keep things lively with their routine stops. Their incessant pranks fittingly makes "Super Troopers" one of the best movies to watch on April Fools' Day.

Shenanigans can only do so much though, as their department is set to be shut down in order to further fund the local Spurbury police run by Chief Bruce Grady (Daniel von Bargen). The Troopers' moment to prove their worth arrives in the form of an abandoned Winnebago containing a dead body and a whole bunch of marijuana with a cartoon monkey on the packaging. A war between the Troopers and the local PD ensues in the race to uncover who's behind the drug smuggling operation.

A key lesson you come to understand when watching the "Super Troopers" movies is that the plot isn't as important compared to the jokes, but it does help. The first movie is as stoned as the college students they pull over in the opening, as it often forgets narrative momentum. It's more interested in following these guys around while goofing off on the job, and for better or worse, that's pretty much what you get.

While talks of a sequel had been happening since the mid 2000s, "Super Troopers 2" didn't get off the ground until 2015, following an immensely successful Indiegogo campaign that proved its viability to Fox Searchlight Pictures. You're always playing with fire when it comes to comedy sequels trying to recapture lightning-in-a-bottle. Critics didn't seem to think this 17 year-gap sequel succeeded, with Looper designating it one of the worst movies of 2018 at the time. As far as this writer is concerned, it's about on par with the original, which makes sense considering "Super Troopers 2" feels like it was made for those who fell in love with the cult classic.

As expected, the Troopers' promotion to police officers didn't last long following a comical celebrity death on their watch. Early on, Vermont Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) calls the disgraced gang in to reinstate the State Trooper program upon the discovery that Canada has given up their rights to a stretch of land that actually belongs to the United States. In addition to clashing with the established Mountie presence, the hockey player turned mayor (Rob Lowe), and a French-Canadian diplomat (Emmanuelle Chriqui), the Troopers come across yet another drug smuggling operation with a mysterious force behind it.

"Super Troopers 2" mostly acts as an excuse to hang out with all of these characters again, most of whom are still stuck in amber, development-wise. What edges this out over the first movie, however, is the rivalry with the local authorities, as Tyler Labine, Will Sasso, and Hayes MacArthur make much funnier foils than the SPD. The hit-or-miss joke ratio is still there, but at least the climax is a more involving set piece.

"Super Troopers 3" continues the series' tradition of interpersonal hijinks amid a plot involving a secret drug ring. In a shocking turn of events, this threequel ends up being the best (and funniest) version. Thorny finds himself in a waking nightmare after learning that his sister Sarita (Hannah Simone) is engaged to the loudmouthed Farva, after he rescued her from a car accident. A series of schemes are soon underway to discredit Sarita's reckless fiancée in front of their parents (Sakina Jaffrey and Iqbal Theba) before the big day, only for it to consistently backfire. Meanwhile, the other Troopers, along with rookie Coy (Andrew Dismukes), find themselves embroiled in a ludicrous maple syrup conspiracy.

What really makes "Super Troopers 3" stand out is its willingness to contain its shenanigans within the confines of a culture clash wedding comedy where Farva's obnoxiousness somehow works in his favor. He's finally transformed into live-action Eric Cartman. The rest of the Broken Lizard crew actually grapple with not being the young'uns they once were, while still relishing in their dumb jokes with the same chemistry they always had. Even Brian Cox musters some chuckles simply for coming back for the third time as now-former Captain John O'Hagen.

"Super Troopers 3" gets to a point where you have to surrender to the escalation of sheer absurdity on display. There's a stand-out sequence involving a lobster that's easily the funniest bit in the entire series. To say nothing of the last half-hour, which sees director Jay Chandrasekhar pulling out all the stops for one last blaze of glory.