Tropic Thunder Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)August 20th, 2008
"Tropic Thunder" - Bullets, Banter, and Belly Laughs
by Homer Yen
(c) 2008
Ben Stiller's films have always given me an opportunity to use different adjectives to describe them. There is the one that is vaguely amusing ("Zoolander"), fluffy ("A Night at the Museum"), corny ("Dodgeball"), and vile ("The Heartbreak Kid"). And now with "Tropic Thunder", I can use the one that I've always wanted to use: hilarious. After his many years in the film business, Ben Stiller has learned from his shortcomings, and he has crafted a surprisingly insightful comedy that ends the summer on a hilarious note.
This is one of those films where the film trailer does that actual movie no justice whatsoever. It certainly isn't about a military operation in the middle of the Southeast Asia jungle, although it kind of is. It certainly isn't supposed to be suspenseful, although it manages to be. Its material is guaranteed to offend someone, yet everyone laughs.
It's really an audacious piece of commentary that slaps the Hollywood establishment in its face.
Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a fading action star too vapid for words. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a flatulent and loose-cannon comic actor. Robert Downey Jr. plays 5-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus, who will do anything to throw himself into a role. These three are introduced to the audience through a series of fake movie trailers. Downey's movie trailer is undeniably funny, cringe-worthy, and blasphemous at the same time. These first 10 minutes should filter out any people that shouldn't belong there.
These three moviestars have been tapped to star in a mega-production called "Tropic Thunder", which tells of a suicide mission during the Vietnam War to rescue a commander named Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte). This project becomes a nightmare for the ungifted, rookie director (Steve Coogen). The actors need to be ridiculously pampered, and the actors' egos get in the way at every opportunity. The director decides to fly them inland, hoping to scare the actors into an authentic performance.
However, ignorance and luck come together as they unknowingly encroach upon a drug lord's territory. The actors can't really decide at first if this is all part of the director's plan or if they're in serious trouble. And, then something unexpected happens. Their oversized egos create lots of laughs as they debate the reality of their predicament. And, the film is suspenseful because it can ramp up the violence and the thrills when in "R-rated" territory.
The laughs come from the most subversive of places, including the unexpected demise of one of the characters, someone playing with a severed head, and Tobey McGuire thinking sinful thoughts. Yet, "Tropic Thunder" isn't so much a comedy as it is a jab at the Hollywood establishment. I give Ben Stiller credit for his audacity in hinting that Hollywood is full of two-faced, me-first, unrelenting power brokers. And, that point is riotously illustrated with the character, Les Grossman (played brilliantly by an unrecognizable Tom Cruise) who is sort of the anti-Jerry Maguire studio exec. The point of that character is that when a project makes lots of money, all will be forgiven. And with "Tropic Thunder", Ben Stiller will either fade away like Sinead O'Connor or will find himself as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Hollywood Celebrities. I say, he'll be one of the Top 25. "Tropic Thunder" is ridiculously fun.
Grade: A-
S: 2 out of 3
L: 4 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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