Director: Ben Stiller
Screenplay: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 107 min
(3.5/5)I have to admit that I was one lucky camper to be able to find my way into the Los Angeles premiere of Tropic Thunder this past week (yeah, I’m bragging a bit – I can’t help myself). Once I got over the dizziness that goes along with being a little starstruck, I made my way into the plush theatre, plopped my butt down on the seat, and as the film began to roll I knew within the first few minutes – a collection of fake trailers that put those in Grindhouse to shame – that I was in for something real spectacular… and spectacular it was.
The movie follows a director (Steve Coogan) and group of actors who are shooting a big-budget Hollywood war film based on the memoirs of an old veteran named Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte). After disaster strikes the set due to a clash of the actors’ egos, the film itself is put in jeopardy by a greedy studio executive (Tom Cruise in a hopeful image-changing role), Four Leaf tells the director that the only way to save the movie is to film it by throwing them right into the middle of the Vietnam jungle and use hidden cameras to capture it all – “guerilla style” as the director appropriately puts it. Naturally, things don’t go as planned, and they are quickly mistaken by a drug lord as being real American soldiers. Hilarity – and plenty of action – ensue.
Tropic Thunder does what a comedy aims to do. It makes people laugh and laugh often. It’s over-the-top. It’s politically incorrect. It’s crude. It’s both stupid and intelligent in the best of ways. But mostly it’s funny. From the priceless and well-written cameos, to all the in-Hollywood jokes, to the satirizing of modern war films as well as well-known actor stereotypes, it certainly hits the mark in almost every aspect.
The story itself is simple and nothing we haven’t seen before, but that’s more than made up for with the variety of interestingly developed characters and situations. I have zero complaints with any actor – everyone shows up here with their A-game, from the smallest of roles to the biggest, which is probably why this movie is far better than it should be. As the actors turned soldiers, there is Tugg Speedman (Stiller), the action star on a downward spiral after failing miserably looking for some cred by taking on an Oscar-bait role as a mentally handicapped man named Simple Jack. There is Jeff Portney (Black), the drug-addicted comedic actor who is looking to take on a serious role for once. There is Kevin Sandusky (Baruchel), the nerdy young buck who is hoping this will be his big break so he can finally get laid. There is Alpa Chino (Jackson), the rapper-turned-actor who has no problem speaking his mind. Then there is is Kirk Lazarus. As many expected, the man who takes this movie to another level and steals every scene he’s in, not so dissimilar to Ledger in The Dark Knight, is Robert Downey Jr., who now is deservedly having the hottest year of his career so far.
Downey gives what is a legendary (and Oscar-worthy) comedic performance as blonde-haired, blue-eyed Australian method-actor Lazarus. He is just brilliant. Every line and facial expression he delivers with such precision, every subtle detail he nails. After going through the whole permanent blackface procedure, Lazarus refuses to break character, even as he and his co-stars are thrown in the most dire of situations, and this makes for the funniest, most memorable parts of the film (especially his conversations and moments with Alpa). I will not spoil a single moment, but what RDJ does with the role is simply unbelievable.
Tropic Thunder is a movie that I imagine will only get better with repeated viewings. It admittedly suffers from some weak moments – as do most comedies – and as such the movie itself may not go down as a classic. Downey Jr.’s performance undoubtedly will though.
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Links:
IMDb profile
Official Site
Funny, and Stupid, and Broad and Clever. Reminded me a lot of the underrated UNDERCOVER BROTHER (with Neil Patrick Harris in the RDJ role, of sorts). I’d hardly say classic, but it was a pleasant surprise.
The TIVO thread was pretty inspired, although the final moments regarding it was a bit crude and shoe horned.
I don’t have any complaints per se with Tropic Thunder, it certainly made me want to go back and revisit THE CABLE GUY.
Some of it was a bit broad for my tastes, but as Jonathan says, the laughs are there, and it makes for a fair bit of forgiveness when watching it. I’m sure there is some rewatch value there, if that is your thing.
More on this in the coming cinecast.
This was one of the most awful movies I’ve ever seen… and I watched this within days of Mama Mia! so you know how low the bar had already been set. There’s nothing intelligent about this movie. If you want to see a good parody movie, rent Hot Fuzz. THAT movie got it right.
meh.
You know, in the days after Pineapple Express, and after seeing Tropic Thunder, I want to see PE again, I’m thinking of it more fondly, perhaps by comparison seeing two action/comedies so close together.
Tropic Thunder was exactly what Kurt was mocking it for in advance to me. It was broad, and while funny a couple times, was pretty… predictable. It starts off with some promise, but once it gets into the jungle its kind of boring and slow moving. Robert Downey Jr’s performance here is extremely overrated and one dimensional – I expected a bit more bizarre turn there. The Alpa Chino guy was Chris Tucker level annoying and was only there to be offended by Downey in a base, uninspired way, and end up as a gay joke with a predictable finish. I mean once he said Lance I knew Mr. Bass was gonna be there eventually (thanks to cramming all the celebs in, and hey, he was in Zoolander, so I figured). Jack Black has high billing but kind of disappears into the background of the movie, even though his freakouts for me were funnier than most peoples parts. Baruchel and McBride didn’t really get to do anything. Cruise and McConaughey were okay but wore out their welcome by the end.
At its best it reminded me of Galaxy Quest (which is a far better movie), and at its worst, it reminded me of… the Austin Powers sequels. I mean, that’s a bit insulting, even though I like the first Austin Powers.. I mean, I found nothing particularly cringeworthy, but it was a bit of a chore to sit through.
2/5
oh, and as for comedies, since you brought it up on the podcast. For this year, for me its been Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers (McKay’s style works for me – its plotless “comedy porn” and makes no bones about it), and then everything else lagging pretty far behind.
okay, a little more TT bashing:
again to Downey Jr, its the same schtick the whole time, he’s mumbling so often I could barely make out what he was saying pretty often, and so much of his dialogue is interaction and advice to Alpa Chino, the comedy black hole, no pun intended. it didnt offend me or tickle me by its political incorrectness, it was just there. If anything it didn’t push far enough.
My other big problem, and this especially goes for the Tom Cruise scenes, is it pulls a Bad Santa – a movie I loathe – where it automatically assumes excessive swearing becomes edgy and funny, and just keeps going until one particular line is timed well enough to connect. It’s awful and desperate. It CAN be done right – In The Big Lebowski the constant swearing is ingrained into their character – Lebowski’s swearing is natural and fluid and unintimidating, and Walter will fuck you up. Will Ferrell can do it right because if you ask me, its kind of his thing, and all these other people doing it now are really just edging in on his territory, and they don’t do it better. When Tom Cruise is screaming at the guy, all I see is Tom Cruise trying to shock people by saying things we’re not used to hearing him say (lately). Compare that to his speeches in Magnolia which are truly shocking, and actually funny because they are off putting and creepy, to the point there were people at my showing back then walking out who just couldn’t take the assault of his misogyny any longer.
I’m going to sites I trust more than others who are very tough to please comedy-wise who seem to be loving TT though – I just don’t get it. Its sloppy, predictable, uneven, good dialogue is sparse and the performances are only sometimes there.
(and I keep going, which I do from time to time).
One more thing.
Once again, going back to Wanted, and Pineapple Express does this at times, and in TT – guns are boring, and are especially not funny. In Hot Fuzz they make it work with the poses and by mixing in with other forms of gore and violence. In TT its almost exclusively guns. I was hoping someone would get one of those big machete things you see in the jungle and just start hacking off limbs.
SPOILER I GUESS?
SPOILER I GUESS?
SPOILER I GUESS?
Case in point, the only funny violence is Ben Stiller running away and the child is constantly stabbing him with a small knife, the opening scenes where the bayonet spills Baruchels’ guts, and the untimely demise of Mr. Coogan.
A lot of the humour of the Tom Cruise character was stale (much better in Swimming with Sharks, etc.), it was fresh and funny precisely because Tom Cruise was in there.
I’ll second the fact that if I had to choose between the two, I’d take Pineapple, but I did laugh, a lot, during Tropic Thunder.
I basically agree with all your points, though I’d probably give it a 7. Tom Cruise’s dance sequences were over the top, unnecessary, overlong and not very funny…and a very crappy way to end the movie in my opinion. But other than the dancing, Cruise was hilarious.
The opening was the best …from the fake ads to the shooting of the film. The “bust a nut” ad was hysterical, as were the trailers. Some lady next to us didn’t quite get the point and said “well that movie looks dumb” during the Jack Black preview.
3 things Goon, then I’m out til the Cinecast…
**MINOR SPOILER??**
1) It wasn’t the swearing that was funny from Cruise (actually it was), it was the ridiculous get-up he was wearing, complete with fat suit. But beyond that – after he’s done yelling and screaming that “we’re gonna fuck you up the ass!!”, he looks at his assistant and says, “you wanna find out who that was.” THAT was some funny shit. However, the last couple minutes with the dancing was painful I agree. But as Kurt said, it was funny simply because it was Tom Cruise.
END MINOR SPOILER
2) I don’t really agree with any of your points Goon – especially the RDJ stuff. I’m not defending him because he’s my fav, I’m defending him cuz I was laughing at him whenever he was on screen. I can agree with the dialogue – it should’ve been pushed further, but it was the facial expressions and body movement that got me.
3) The only point I do agree on, is the action sequences. It was the same problem I had with PE – not funny, strung out and kind of boring. They only managed one funny part in the whole bit with the “Saving Private Ryan” moment. Once the main battle is over, it gets funny again (the bridge sequence with the kid was funny and McConaughey with the TiVO).
I’m out.
Don’t get me wrong, its not like the film is never funny, its just one of those things where theres so many lulls and then one small thing happens out of nowhere, and the thing is if I’m already a little bored, that little thing doesnt make me do a U-turn and bust out laughing, at best theres the inner discussion with your mind that says “that was pretty good” and asking yourself why there aren’t more of those.
I feel like almost everything wasn’t push far enough. In this movie, Stiller is trying to do something badass without offending anyones sensibilities. I mean the Hollywood jokes are on point but aside from the Simple Jack stuff that got everyone all mad, nothing is particularly cutting. I guess the RDJ thing for me is that its constantly there to make some point about method acting that was already made in the opening RDJ trailer. From there his method acting is mostly just staying in costume and talking the same way, and his interactions with others were mostly devoid of humor. I’m not saying RDJ is flat out bad, I’m just saying I can’t constantly laugh at Tom Cruise or RDJ just because they’re wearing something odd, just as I certainly hope nobody constantly laughs at a clown for having ridiculous shoes. Facial expressions and everything is fine, and its partially a matter of hype here, but RDJ definitely does not do enough in this film to merit all this praise.
“I’m just a little boy who plays with his penis when he’s nervous.”