Grade: C

Verdict: Entertaining, even though the jokes sometimes aren't.

Details: Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Marisa Coughlan. Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use. One hour, 40 minutes.

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Review: You hear the siren first, then see the flashing red-and-blue lights in the rearview mirror. You pull the car over, turn off the ignition, and wait interminable seconds as the state trooper approaches — all dark glasses, bushy mustache and intimidating swagger.

But once he reaches the car, it doesn't take long to realize this is no ordinary state trooper. This is one of Vermont's "Super Troopers," who play pranks on drivers for sport when they're not smoking confiscated pot or racing each other in cars they've impounded.

With its subversive charm, "Super Troopers" aims to be a sort of "Airplane" on the open road. And it has an authentic, low-budget look that recalls the worst '70s B-movies, even though it's set today.

But "Super Troopers" comes from the five-member Broken Lizard Comedy Group, who co-wrote the script and co-star; one of them, Jay Chandrasekhar, also directed.

And typical of sketch comedy, the jokes are hit and miss. Many land with a thud, while others sneak up and are surprisingly hysterical in a surreal, goofy way.

The gimmick is that the troopers are weirder than the people they pull over, and they turn everything into a game; how many times they can say the word "meow" during a traffic stop, how long they can repeat each other verbatim before the driver catches on.

Sitting around a table at M's Cozy Corner diner, they challenge each other to maple syrup-chugging contests, then throw the empty plastic bottles across the room at the local policemen.

The troopers compete so fiercely with the town cops that when they arrive at the same time at a crime scene — a trailer with a dead woman and a live pig inside — they punch and handcuff each other instead of investigating.

There's Thorny (Chandrasekhar), the group's veteran; Farva (Kevin Heffernan), an overzealous desk jockey; Mac (Steve Lemme), who finds truly twisted uses for official equipment; Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske), the eager rookie; and lovesick Foster (Paul Soter), who has a crush on Ursula (Marisa Coughlan), the cute, blond police dispatcher.

"Super Troopers" hums along when the guys are goofing off, and grinds to a halt when it tries to have a cohesive plot. The movie has something to do with pot smugglers who stamp their bundles with the image of Johnny Chimpo, the star of an Afghan cartoon that's a low-budget version of Japanese anime. Meanwhile, their captain (Brian Cox) fights to keep the troopers' substation open when budget cuts threaten to shut it down.

And only Wonder Woman herself — Lynda Carter in a cameo as the governor of Vermont — can save them.

Cox — like the five-man comedy team — seems to be having a good time as the stern leader who increasingly loses control toward the end. Heffernan practically channels John Candy. And Coughlan and Soter have some funny, flirty scenes together.

But any semblance of structure is just an excuse for high-comedy highway shenanigans, which are lighthearted enough to be endearing, even when they crash.

— Christy Lemire, Associated Press