''Puddle Cruiser'' is a 1996 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, the first full-length film created by the

Broken Lizard Broken Lizard is an American comedy troupe that comprises Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and He ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

group. It premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. The movie was filmed entirely on the campus of

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

, the alma mater of all five members of the comedy quintet. It was released on DVD in December 2005; the disc also features a 17-minute documentary called ''Rodeo Clowns'' on the marketing of ''Puddle Cruiser'' and ''

Super Troopers ''Super Troopers'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group (Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske). Marisa Coughlan, Daniel ...

'' with free previews on college campuses and using specially-painted tour buses. The extras and actors are almost entirely friends, family and other alumni, due to the very tight budget of the film. The film is repeatedly shown on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

Plot

While breaking in to the Coburn University dining hall, college friends Felix, ( Steve Lemme), Matt (

Paul Soter Paul Soter (born August 16, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. As a child, he lived in Sacramento, Anchorage, Phoenix, and Denver. He graduated from Colgate University and wa ...

), and Grogan ( Kevin Heffernan) are discovered by campus police. Felix manages to escape, but Matt and Grogan are caught, and await a disciplinary trial. Felix meets Suzanne (Kayren Butler), the student lawyer assigned to his friend's case, and begins a casual relationship with her. Suzanne is still dating her boyfriend, Traci (Jamison Selby), who is a rugby player at another school. Suzanne attempts to hide her relationship with Felix from Traci, causing Felix to sleep with Jennifer (Laura Arieh), another student. Suzanne becomes angry with Felix for pursuing another woman, while he insists that she is hypocritical, as she is still dating Traci. Matt and Grogan inform Suzanne that Felix was with them on the night they were caught breaking into the dining hall, forcing her to resign from the case, causing a guilty verdict and a community service sentence. Suzanne breaks up with Traci, only to find that he is scheduled to play against the Coburn rugby team. Suzanne begs Felix not to play in the upcoming game for his own safety and attempts to have him removed from the game by reporting his crime to campus police. The attempt is foiled when the players from both teams

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

the climactic scene from ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

'' ("I'm Felix Bean!"). He succeeds in playing but is significantly injured by Traci who single-mindedly pursued him for the entire match. He is sentenced to community service during his recovery from the injuries. Felix and Suzanne admit that they love each other, as Felix begins carrying out his community service. Meanwhile, Matt, Grogan, and Freaky Reaky (

Erik Stolhanske Broken Lizard is an American comedy troupe that comprises Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and H ...

) are caught later that night stealing food from the kitchen.

Cast

* Steve Lemme as Felix Bean *

Jay Chandrasekhar Jayanth Jambulingam Chandrasekhar (born April 9, 1968) is an American comedian, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for his work with the sketch comedy group Broken Lizard and for directing and starring in the Broken Lizard ...

as Zach Strader *

as Matthew "Matt" Phister * Kevin Heffernan as Bartholomew Grogan *

as Sean "Freaky Reaky" Reaker * Alison Clapp as Emily Cooper * Kayren Butler as Suzanne McKenna * Jamison Selby as Traci Shannon * Laura Arieh as Jennifer Montgomery

Accolades

It won the 1996 Golden Starfish Award at the 1996

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October a ...

where it received a positive review from

Variety (magazine) ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

and split the award with

Matt Mahurin Matthew S. Mahurin (born January 31, 1959) is an American illustrator, photographer and film director. Mahurin's illustrations appear in ''Time'', ''Newsweek'', ''Mother Jones'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Esquire'', ''Forbes'', and ''The New York Time ...

's ''Mugshot''.

References

Notes

External links

* * 1996 films 1996 comedy films American comedy films 20th Century Fox films Broken Lizard Films directed by Jay Chandrasekhar 1996 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-comedy-film-stub