Are Movie Themed Popcorn Buckets Maybe Going Too Far?

Let’s everyone calm down. 

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At least that’s the advice we’re giving if you and your friends are also actively engaged in a debate about whether a certain movie franchise has gone a bit… un-hilariously over the top with its movie theater tie-in swag. Super Troopers 3 will be released on August 6th and like many movie franchises over the past few years, the movie premiere comes complete with its own mustachioed popcorn bucket. And while the bucket is funny and only-slightly creepy, it’s got us asking an important question: is there such a thing as too much merch?

Is This Just Shenanigans?

If we’re being real, there’s good reason to reject all the branded extras. If we’re being really real―no, that won’t be the last time I say shenanigans. It’s not necessarily that we’ve all stopped enjoying, or eating, merch or that we’ve all suddenly remembered the Marie Kondo of it all. 

But being budget-strapped does slow the impulse-buying hand. And any franchised tie-in (be it McDonald’s or Marvel) is higher-priced, presumably because it’s a reusable keepsake. And whether it’s budget-inspired or an unexpected byproduct of sitting quietly in the dentist’s office, some of us really are trying to live more simply. Like drinking milk from a saucer, for instance. (Are you getting these references? Good because they’re gonna keep coming.) Or just cutting back on extras.

Yes, We’re Freaking Out, Man

So call it a risky opinion―and maybe I’m jumpin’ around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree here―but no merch could be more merited or needed than this weird popcorn bucket. Why? Because Super Troopers and all its shenanigans are just very, very funny. So funny that fans crowd-funded the $4.6m sequel. So funny that the inanity of its insanely, gleefully repeatable taglines has yet to drive any of us to an actual pistol-whipping. It’s the movie franchise that got Logan Roy to shout “Ursula, I’m naked!” and inspired Americans to actually acknowledge, and vocally celebrate, the metric system. 

So yes, we will pay extra for that actual, ST3 branded liter o’ cola we’ve only been waiting 25 years to own. And, as long as the movie theater attendant hasn’t quit yet (because you can only hear “It’s for a cop” repeated so many times), we’ll also take the popcorn bucket. The 130oz “Trooper Bucket with Hat Lid” bucket comes with free same-day refills and AMC has confirmed that the Ray Bans and Thorny-thick mustache on the bucket are, indeed, real.

If you’re still in doubt, think of it this way: we live in an era where people earnestly answer questions like “How did you spend your three-day weekend” with the word “doomscrolling.” Put simply, we’re a nation, and a viewing public, um, in need of assistance.