'Dread' attainable as a liter-a-cola

A year or so ago, my friends and I were in the video store trying to decide what to rent. Somebody suggested "Super Troopers," and since I wasn't paying, I agreed. The previews looked more dumb than funny, so I wasn't expecting much when we turned it on. Needless to say, it quickly became one of my favorite comedies, both to watch and quote.\nSo now here comes "Club Dread," Broken Lizard's follow-up to their 2002 cult hit. Is the movie funny? Well, like all comedies, it depends on who you ask. For me, everything I liked about "Super Troopers" seemed missing from "Club Dread" -- namely laughs. \nThe movie takes place at a resort called Pleasure Island, which is basically an overnight camp for college kids. The film begins with a guest and two employees having sex in the jungle only to be killed by a masked, machete-wielding maniac. The plot revolves around the killer wiping out the help one by one, as surviving staffers try to figure out who the killer is. All five members of Broken Lizard are on staff at the island, and like their state troopers in the first flick, responsibility is not their number one priority. There's Dave (Foster in "Super Troopers"), a dope-dealing DJ; Putman (Thorny), a dreadlocked-Brit who teaches tennis; Lars (Farva), a masseuse with an orgasmic touch; Juan (Mac), the resident cute Latin-lover; and then Sam (Rabbit), the most non-descript character of the five. (That I've remembered all their names is not to say they were at all memorable, but rather I was paying very close attention since I knew I would have to recall them for this review.)\nIt's not that screwball comedies require deep, complex characters, but one of the most underrated aspects of "Super Troopers" was the characters' likeability. Even Farva, the schmuck of the group, is likeable in an odd way much in the same way D'Annunzio of "Caddyshack" is likeable. The comedy in "Super Troopers" grows out of the characters whereas the characters in "Club Dread" are designed in an effort to produce comedy.\nConsider the way "Super Troopers" develops. For the most part, it is a slice-of-life movie about how state troopers in crime-depraved Vermont deal with their abundance of spare time. "Club Dread" is about its machete-killer plot, leaving its characters as an afterthought. \nThere are some inspired comedic moments -- such as a live action "Ms. Pac-Man game with guests acting as Ms. Pac-Man" and the ghosts, and staff members acting as the fruit -- but most of the movie is slow and unfunny. I doubt anyone will delight in quoting "Club Dread" a year from meow the way many people enjoy quoting "Super Troopers." I suppose it's worth a gander, as other people in the theater seemed to be laughing, but it's certainly not worth $7.50.