Paul Soter Movies
With his curly blonde mop and occasional beard, Paul Soter has the distinction of being one of the most instantly recognizable members of the famed Broken Lizard comedy troupe -- one of the only sketch comedy ensembles started by frat boys, for frat boys.Born in Sacramento on August 16, 1972, the son of an Air Force Major and a hospital administrator, Soter's childhood situation will strike a chord with anyone who hails from a military family: shuttled around constantly as a youngster, whisked from Sacramento to Anchorage to Alaska to Phoenix to Denver. (Not, incidentally, an altogether uncommon dynamic for future comedians). He attended Colgate University in Madison County, upstate New York, circa fall 1990, where he met Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, and Erik Stolhanske; they became acquainted not only via shared friends and associations with the theater department, but by a joint membership in the Beta Theta Phi fraternity.
Chandrasekhar was asked to direct a stage show, and -- later -- to assemble a sketch comedy troupe; this he did, with help from Soter, Heffernan, Lemme, and Stolhanske, under the name "Charred Goosebeak." The troupe attained wide popularity in New York in the early '90s, and -- spurred on by the triumph of Reservoir Dogs -- reasoned that they could begin producing low-budget films as a comedy troupe. Two efforts, the little-seen 1996 Puddle Cruiser and the 2001 Super Troopers, followed; the latter premiered at Sundance and became a runaway hit. Chandrasekhar directed both. Soter appears to have been one of the deciding factors in making the troupe's third feature outing, Club Dread. Directed by Chandrasekhar, Club Dread hit cinemas in early 2004; it also became a massive hit. Around the same time, Soter performed, with the other boys, in the ensemble cast of the "unofficial" Broken Lizard vehicle The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), starring Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, and Willie Nelson, and also directed by Chandrasekhar. In the 2006 Broken Lizard vehicle Beerfest, Soter plays Jan Wolfhouse, who travels with his brother Todd (Stolhanske) to see "the old country," and inadvertently becomes involved in an insane beer-drinking competition. Like his fellow schtickmeisters, Soter has co-written all of the Broken Lizard films. He is married to Katherine Davidson. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- R
The Broken Lizard troupe is back with The Slammin' Salmon, a comedy revolving around a restaurant whose former heavyweight champion owner, Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan), sets his waitstaff against each other in a competition to see who can win the most tips, with the winner taking home a cash prize and the lowest earner winning a beatdown from the champ. Troupe member Kevin Heffernan makes his directorial debut with the picture, taking over the reigns from Jay Chandrasekhar, who directed all of Lizard's films up till this point. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar, (more)
A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the couch, soaking up classic movies from the blue glow of his television; Neil's lack of a social life has not been good for his relationships with women, and his latest girlfriend walked out on him after he declared he wanted her to be more like Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But then Neil meets Violet (Lucy Liu), a sexy and adventurous woman who is immediately taken with him. However, Neil soon decides Violet may be a bit too adventurous -- while he's content to get his excitement from watching movies, she would rather throw herself into thrilling situations rather than observe them from a distance, and her appetite for danger proves to be far more than he bargained for. Watching the Detectives was the first directorial effort from Paul Soter, who as a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe helped write the films Super Troopers and Beerfest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu, (more)
Two guys used to drinking beer for fun suddenly become fierce competitors in a sort of Lager Olympics in this over-the-top comedy. Todd Wolfhouse (Erik Stolhanske) and his brother Jan (Paul Soter) are from a German-American family but have never visited the Old Country until their grandfather dies and they fly to Germany to scatter his ashes. Todd and Jan arrive during the annual Oktoberfest celebration and accidentally discover a secret competition, "Beerfest," in which the world's leading beer guzzlers determine who can handle the most brew during several days of heated drinking games. Todd and Jan are no slouches when it comes to downing suds and offer to compete, but the German branch of the family, the Von Wolfhausens, scoff at their desire to enter the contest and inform them no mere American could hope to carry away the Beerfest honors. Determined to prove Yanks can swill beer and embarrass themselves just as well as anyone, Todd and Jan bring their most skilled drinking buddies to Germany to defend America's honor on the field of drunken battle and show their German relatives that the family's talent didn't vanish when they crossed the pond. Beerfest was written and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, and several other Broken Lizard members pop up in the film's cast, as do Will Forte, Mo'nique, Cloris Leachman, and Jürgen Prochnow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, (more)
The General Lee is back and so are the Duke boys in this big-screen adaptation of the hit TV series, brought to you by Jay Chandrasekhar of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. Set in the "present day," the story follows Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) as they cruise around Hazzard County and wreck havoc in their classic 1969 Dodge Charger. Together with their scantily clad cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and moonshining Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), the two good old boys battle the corrupt county commissioner Boss Hog (Burt Reynolds) when he and local Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey) threaten to take away the family farm. John O'Brien has the lone writer's credit on the film, though additional uncredited rewrites were handled by the Broken Lizard gang. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, (more)
Following up their breakthrough film, 2001's Super Troopers, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, comprised of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, took aim at the horror genre and delivered Club Dread. Starring the five members of the troupe along with Bill Paxton, the film is set at an anything-goes tropical resort for swingers. When a psychotic killer starts offing the guests with a razor sharp machete, it's up to the staff to hide the carnage, lest they lose the business of the unsuspecting surviving guests. As with Super Troopers and the first Broken Lizard film Puddle Cruiser, Chandrasekhar directs. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jay Chandrasekhar, (more)
A handful of state troopers are put in the uncomfortable position of having to actually enforce the law in this high-spirited comedy. Mac (Steve Lemme), Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar), Foster (Paul Stoter), and Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske) are four Vermont state troopers whose dedication to duty is not exactly an inspiration to law enforcement officers everywhere. Stationed in a small town near the Canadian border, the troopers don't have much to do, so they while away their hours smoking dope and harassing hapless motorists. Their superior officer, Capt. O'Hagan (Brian Cox), likes the boys and they try to keep their more outrageous antics out of his earshot, but they often run afoul of fellow trooper Farva (Kevin Heffernan), who insists on doing things by the book. When Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) announces massive budget cuts for Vermont law enforcement personnel, things look bad for the troopers and they must quickly prove their worth or they'll be forced to look for real jobs. Appropriately enough, the troopers stumble upon some information regarding a group of marijuana dealers operating along the border; the guys figure this is just the sort of high-profile bust that could save their careers, but the police department of a nearby town gets wind of the troopers' plans. The Earlville police are no friends of the troopers, and they set out to ruin their moment of glory. Super Troopers was written by the five-man comedy troupe Broken Lizard, who also star as the five troopers; the group's leader, Jay Chandrasekhar, directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, (more)
Grogan (Kevin Heffernan) and Matt (Paul Soter) get caught red-handed stealing food from the college cafeteria, but Felix (Steve Lemme) calmly climbs out a back window and gets away. Later, at a party with his friend, Zach (Jay Chandrasekar), Felix catches sight of Suzanne (Kayren Butler) and is immediately smitten. But not only does Suzanne have Traci (Jamison Selby), her jock boyfriend from home, hanging around, it also turns out that she's defending Felix's moronic friends in the school's case against them. As if this wasn't enough trouble, she's also trying to get them to turn in their unknown accomplice. Zach has his own romantic problems. He's gotten the phone number of a beautiful woman, but she's left out one of the digits, and he's too shy to approach her again, necessitating several hours of dialing wrong numbers. Meanwhile, Suzanne's friend, Emily (Alison Clapp), is being pursued by the kooky campus mailroom worker, Freaky Reaky (Erik Stolhanske). Puddle Cruiser was the first feature from the Colgate University-spawned comedy troupe, Broken Lizard, who produced the film independently. The film was well received at several festivals, including the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, but failed to find a distributor. The troupe took the film on an innovative national college tour, selling tickets and building word-of-mouth. Broken Lizard's follow-up feature, Super Troopers, received a wide theatrical release in 2001. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, (more)
