Super Troopers 3

Grade: C-

We must believe that at some point, the mustachioed title characters in Super Troopers 3 eventually get around to doing their job. We almost never see them be cops and do police duties. I get and accept what Super Troopers 3 was trying to do. It establishes a tone and sticks to it, without morphing or reinventing itself into something it’s not. It just didn’t work for me this time. I didn’t laugh or care enough.

It opens “in medias res,” with Officer Farva dressed like a groom, doing Bollywood dancing at an Indian wedding reception. “What is this all about?” we wonder, as we cut to “2 months earlier.” Officer Thorny’s sister Sarita has been sent rolling into the woods after a car came up too close behind her and spun her off. When Farva immediately shows up to “save” her (she is surprisingly okay after the crash), it is love at first sight—and, as we have already been shown, they get married just two months later.

It is unbelievable in every way, but I’ll allow the movie its premise. At least there is a plot, as flimsy as it is, to carry along the jokes. It creates “meet the parents/family” situations, as Thorny meanwhile does everything he can to get his family to dislike Farva so the wedding can be off. Farva, however, is always one step ahead, and seems to know just what to do to present himself in the best light and press all the right buttons.

I was surprised to realize that I haven’t seen Kevin Heffernan (Farva) in anything outside of this franchise. Maybe he just has one of those familiar faces. With his mustache, physique, and certain kind of eating grin, he presents the best argument to play John Candy’s Del Griffith in a Planes, Trains & Automobiles remake. Alas, there is already one in development, with Will Smith and Kevin Hart. Otherwise, the movie trudges along as a My Big Fat Super Trooper Wedding of sorts. To its credit, it sticks with the vibe that people are used to seeing from it. I laughed a few times, but it wasn’t enough to keep me on board.

It ends with a mid-credits scene, teasing where a potential Super Troopers 4 would go, and it even displays that title. I’m not seeing that there’s one in development, only that it’s a high possibility if this film does well. I would go, to track their progress and see if they can better utilize the few and far between moments in ST3 that I did enjoy. As for this installment, it stays in its lane. I’ll give it that. But that’s not enough if the lane doesn’t take you anywhere you want to go.

Grade: C-