Super Troopers (2001)

In the laid-back, syrup-chugging state of Vermont, five bored, occasionally high, and always ineffective state troopers spend their days tormenting speeders and engaging in escalating prank wars with the local police. Led by the mustachioed Captain O'Hagan, Troopers Thorny, Mac, Rabbit, Foster, and the irrepressible Farva must prove their worth to the governor or face having their station shut down for good. Their chance at redemption arrives unexpectedly when they stumble upon a dead body and a massive drug-smuggling ring. Suddenly, these highway pranksters have a real crime to solve, and they plan to make a career-saving bust, but their rivals in the Spurbury Police Department are out to steal all the glory. While it is undeniably a cult comedy first and foremost, *Super Troopers* earns a spot on a list of best mysteries for its clever, albeit hilarious, subversion of the genre. Beneath the layers of pranks and quotable one-liners lies a genuine "whodunit" plot. The troopers act as our unconventional detectives, piecing together clues—from the mysterious stickers on trafficking trucks to the identity of the murdered woman in the Winnebago—in their own bumbling, unorthodox fashion. The film successfully builds a central criminal conspiracy, complete with red herrings and a climactic reveal of the culprits hiding in plain sight. It's a mystery where the investigative process is as comically inept as it is surprisingly effective, proving that a compelling puzzle can be solved even when the detectives are more interested in chugging maple syrup than following protocol.