Super Troopers 2 is finally coming to theaters, on April 20 no less, and fans of the first film could not be happier, especially after seeing the hilarious trailer for the sequel. This time around, the gang is back and must head to an area that is under a border dispute between Canada and the United States.
Even though the original film came out 17 years ago, the out-there comedy about a group of Vermont state troopers still holds up. However, there are a lot of little facts about the filming of this movie you might not know. Meow, before you see Super Troopers 2, check out these 14 facts about the original film.
This Scene Is Based On A Real Event
One of the most memorable scenes in Super Troopers is the opening where a group of kids gets pulled over by the troopers and the young adult in the backseat has to eat all of their drugs before the officers come up to the car.
Steve Lemme, who plays Mac in the film, told Seven Days that the scene was based on a true story: "We rented an RV and decided to go into Canada to experience all the delights of Québec," explained Lemme. "The Canadian border guard saw a joint on the dashboard of the RV. And he asked everyone whose joint it was and no one wanted to take credit for that."
"One guy was holding all of the mushrooms for the entire bachelor party, like, 12 doses of mushrooms. And he got so freaked out that he ate all of the mushrooms in the back of the RV. He tripped for 48 hours. And he had no memory of it, because he was so dosed up."
Guess Who's On Mushrooms?
Fans of the series learned something interesting about Super Troopers while the cast was live-tweeting during a Comedy Central airing of the film. Steve Lemme tweeted that at one point in the film, two of the guys in the scene were on mushrooms. Looking through the other tweets from that evening, it may be the moment before the "shenanigans" joke, and if you look at the image above, you may be able to guess who is on drugs during filming.
Shenanigans Was Written In One Try
Speaking of "shenanigans," according to Lemme, that scene was written in one try and was never edited.
Was That Really Syrup In There?
One thing fans have always wondered is, "Were they really chugging maple syrup in the restaurant?" According to Erik Stolhanske, who plays Rabbit, they started off drinking iced tea, but finished the scene with actual maple syrup.
Filmed On Location... At A Prison
During the scene where the officers were out at the shooting range, Lemme revealed that said range belongs to Fishkill Maximum Security Prison, and the inmates were screaming obscenities at them during the filming. You can even see the fence for the prison in the background of the screenshot above.
A Group Of Police Officers Loved It
Apparently, police officers also love Super Troopers. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lemme said a group of Utah State Police saw the movie at Sundance. "Afterwards, they were like, 'Oh my God. You captured it.,'" explained Lemme. "Usually in movies, either cops are portrayed as dicks or they're just idiots. They said, 'You actually captured what it's like to be a police officer. We play all those games when we're bored.'"
Studio Really Wanted Ben Affleck In Super Troopers
Studios didn't understand what the The Broken Lizard gang was trying to accomplish. Because originally the movie had a budget of $1.2 million, studios wanted to dump more money into the film. "We were walking in saying that we were going to star in it, and that I was going to direct it," explained director and star Jay Chandrasekhar in an AVClub interview. "That was it. They asked us if they could put Ben Affleck in one part, and they asked if someone else could direct it."
Emmy Award-Winner Brian Cox Wanted To Be In It
In a silly comedy about police officers goofing around, it's really weird to see an Emmy award-winner actor, Brian Cox in this case, in such a prominent role. Weirder yet, Chandrasekhar explained to AVClub that Cox wanted to do it. "He actually called us. He's always playing parts like pedophiles and Nazi generals and nasty people, and he's a big Jerry Lewis fan, and thinks he's got that bone in him. He's been looking for a comedy to do, and he kept contacting us and contacting us, and he turned out to be amazing."
The Cast Impersonated Officers During Shooting
Broken Lizard's antics continued while they weren't filming as well. In the production notes for Super Troopers (via Cinema), Chandrasekhar said they pretended to be cops while the cameras weren't rolling. "Shooting a movie when you're dressed as a cop is great," he explained. "People are used to following orders from people who look like me."
At one point, he ordered his co-star Kevin Heffernan, who plays Favre, to stop traffic as cars were flying by the set at 60 mph. In addition, Erik Stolhanske drove 100 mph on the highway in a police car with the lights on, which is very illegal if you aren't a cop. He claims he didn't know the lights were on.
Favre's Fake Mustache
Sadly, Favre's mustache isn't real. Heffernan revealed it was a "stunt mustache" on Twitter.
Kevin Heffernan Calls His Own Parents "Chickenf***ers"
Heffernan, playing the character Favre, walks up to a car he pulled over in the film and calls the passengers "Chickenf***ers." It turns out that those are Heffernan's real-life parents.
He Also Didn't Want Jim Gaffigan In The Movie
Speaking of Heffernan, he didn't want comedian Jim Gaffigan in the film because Gaffigan always beat him out for roles in auditions, according to Lemme. Well, who's laughing meow?
Originally The Sequel Took Place In The Past
Strangely enough, the original sequel for Super Troopers was going to take place in 1976. Chandrasekhar told Rotten Tomatoes back in 2006 that the film was going to take place during the US bicentennial, and everyone would have mustaches and shaggier hair.
Very Little Improvisation
While many contemporary comedies occasionally rely on improvisation for some of its silliest moments, Super Troopers only had five improv lines in the movie, according to Chandrasekhar. Two of these lines were "It stinks like sex in here," and "That was the second time I got crabs."
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