Tag Archives: Jay Chandrasekhar

The Set of 400: #184 – My Favorite Johnny Chimpo Contraband

Today! Because I can say “meow.” I can say “moo.” For $20, I’ll call the guy a chickenfucker –

Super Troopers (2001)

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (x2)

Starring Jay Chandrasekhar (x3), Steve Lemme (x2), Kevin Heffernan (x2), Paul Soter (x2), Erik Stolhanske (x2), Brian Cox (x4), Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen, Geoffrey Arend, Andre Vippolis, Joey Kern, Lynda Carter, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Weaver, James Grace, John Bedford Lloyd

Look, I’ve got a Best Picture winner coming up, movie after next, so give me a little leeway on how much I enjoy this stupid goddamn movie. I’m not even sure the first time I saw Super Troopers – I had a buddy I did plays with who ran this movie at parties pretty much non-stop, and I was plenty drunk at most of those parties. I also met my wife at one of those parties, so is Team Ramrod indirectly responsible for my marital bliss to this day? Hell, it might be! Thanks, Farva! And shoutout to my pal JD!

The Broken Lizard had a movie out before this – something I don’t think much of anyone saw until after they hit it big, called Puddle Cruiser, but it’s very much the same thing. Most of their movies share the same comic sensibility, but none work better than this – the Vermont highway patrol gets embroiled in a drug smuggling investigation that may or may not involve their rivals from the local police department. And there is much drunken hijinks and pranks and maple syrup chugging along the way. It’s hilarious! Shut up!

Aww, look at the young Broken Lizard!

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The Set of 400: #283 – My Favorite Game of Quarters

Today! Because that brewery makes 10,000 bottles of beer a day – I drink 45 of them and I’m the asshole!

Beerfest (2006)

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

Starring Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar (x2), Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Donald Sutherland (x4), M.C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Jurgen Prochnow, Will Forte (x2), Nat Faxon, Eric Christian Olsen, Mo’Nique, Willie Nelson, Blanchard Ryan

You know what? I wouldn’t even say this is a guilty pleasure. I’m proud of how much enjoyment the Broken Lizard guys have brought into my life over the years. Not surprisingly, this all stems from college – or right after college – when I’d go to parties that would almost exclusively be airing Super Troopers. I saw the comedy team live when they came to Chicago about ten years ago, not too long after I moved here. I contributed to the Kickstarter (or GoFundMe, or something) when they were making Super Troopers 2, and I’ve got the t-shirt to prove it. I’m all in.

And while my proud love of drinking comedy has faded over the years – coinciding with my distinct intolerance for hangovers – Beerfest is still a thoroughly hilarious, exaggerated drunken epic, showcasing drinking games against the bones of a plot having something to do with spreading their grandfather’s ashes at Oktoberfest. But like their other films – Club Dread, The Slammin’ Salmon, Puddle Cruiser – this is primarily a compilation of wacky characters and goofy one-liners, a thinly structured improv show of a movie by expert improvisers. But add in virtually non-stop drinking, and 2006 Joe was all about it. Continue reading

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The Set of 400: #377 – My Favorite Real Estate Ads

Today! Because I’m slappa da bass, mon!

I Love You, Man (2009)

Directed by John Hamburg

Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jaime Pressly, Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons, Jon Favreau, Andy Samberg, Rob Huebel, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, Jay Chandrasekhar, Joe Lo Truglio, Thomas Lennon, Ping Wu, Matt Walsh, Lou Ferrigno, Melissa Rauch, David Wain

There was a stretch in the late ’00s that I in my infinite Epinions hubris referred to as The Golden Age of Comedy (Epinions.com, gone but not forgotten!). And while in retrospect this may be overselling the half dozen bro-centric chucklefests that were released between ’07 and ’10, some are proving to give the test of time a go. Thus, the eminently quotable I Love You, Man, featuring just a ton of TV comedians supporting the ageless Paul Rudd in his search to find a male friend as an adult. The random smattering of glorified cameos include cast members of SNL (Curtin, Samberg), The State (Lo Truglio, Lennon, Wain), Human Giant (Huebel, Ansari), Broken Lizard (Chandrasekhar), and UCB (Walsh, Kroll), and I’m certainly overlooking some folks who belong in those groups. Rudd and Segel make a terrific combo, finally sharing a lot of screen time in the third of five films they appeared in from ’07 to ’13 (and the only one on this list). Also, Lou Ferrigno! And Rush! The holy trinity! Continue reading

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