Weeklies
Movie: "Tropic Thunder"
Year: 2008
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Writing credits: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen
Reviewer: Protoclown
Posted: 8/19/2008
Plot: After his war movie gets canceled by a domineering studio boss, rookie filmmaker Damien Cockburn drops his spoiled actors into the middle of the Vietnam jungle to make his movie more authentic. They think they're still making a movie even when their lives are in real danger.
Review: Being a big fan of Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black, I was really looking forward to Tropic Thunder after I first heard about it, and I'm very happy to report that it doesn't disappoint. Downey Jr's performance here is particularly impressive as he plays a method actor who never breaks character until the movie is done. He's hilarious in his in-movie role as a black man, but fortunately there's a real black man (a fictional rapper named Alpa Chino) along for the ride to keep his bullshit in check. Stiller is pretty on par with most of his other performances, but his direction is particularly spot-on. If there's a weak link here, it's Jack Black, which is a shame as I normally really enjoy him in movies, but the only moment in this film where he truly cracked me up was the scene where he was tied to a tree, and we'll just leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
The movie opens with a series of fake trailers that introduce us to our "actors" and parody various movie franchises, and perhaps the best of the three was the Jack Black one that made fun of the stupid, stupid movies that Eddie Murphy has been making in recent years. But the Robert Downey Jr. one with the Tobey Maguire cameo is pretty damned amusing as well.
One thing that really struck me is how great looking this movie is. They obviously had a sizable production budget and they put it to good use, because it's rare that you see such big explosions and nice location shoots with a comedy. There are plenty of shots where this looks like a real war movie, which is of course exactly what they're going for. But far more than being a simple parody of war movies (and believe me, it makes fun of some of the more familiar cliches in hilarious ways), it's a brilliant satire of the ridiculous nature of Hollywood. I'm sure most of you have heard by now of Tom Cruise's role as an arrogant, brutish movie producer. Now, I'm no Tom Cruise fan (him being a crazy scientologist and all), but I have to admit that he did a fine job in this role (I heard that it was based on a real producer that he didn't get along with).
This is probably the best comedy I've seen in the theater this year (just barely edging out past Get Smart, and if you like any of the three main actors, you are sure to enjoy this film. It's also without a doubt the best movie that Stiller has directed, so if you enjoyed Zoolander or The Cable Guy, you should definitely check this one out!
Overall rating: 
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)
Reader Comments
And wow, Robert Downey Jr. - Iron Man and then this. What the hell can't he do?
Yes, as everybody has talked about recently, Robert Downey Jr. is absolutely fantastic in the movie and he is easily the big showstealer here. As funny as his character is, it's the fake trailer of his with Tobey Maguire at the beginning of the film that I honestly thought was the funniest thing in the movie. Another nice surprise was Nick Nolte's role in the film as a pseudo Vietnam vet... I really wish he had more to do in it because he was a badass. Also noteworthy, believe it or not, is Tom Cruise. Watching him yell on the phone like a raving lunatic is definitely fun, though his character does tend to get old after a while.
Now for the bad. As good as Robert Downey Jr. is, 90% of what he does that's funny has already been in every commercial/trailer that you've seen. So that right there was extremely disappointing. Ben Stiller's role is ok in parts (such as the homage to Platoon with his hands flailing in the air), but for the most part he doesn't really add anything to the film. The biggest disappointment, as Proto already mentioned, is Jack Black. I like Jack Black a lot and think he's an excellent physical comedian when given the opportunity... but goddamn, they really didn't use him to his potential in this.
Now I knew lots of people would love this movie regardless, and believe me... I really wanted to... but I barely laughed at all through the entire film. For all the brilliance that is Downey Jr., most of the gags fall completely flat. So four pickles? No way... 2.5 at best (and that's being generous). If you want to see a truly funny comedy in theaters right now, I'd suggest checking out Step Brothers, because that movie IS filled with great laughs, which really surprised me since I wasn't expecting much from it at all.
Really, the only problem I had with this movie was the fake trailers. They were good for a laugh or two, but overall nothing special (nothing that touches the awesomeness of the fake trailers in Grindhouse, that's for sure).
Which was also by FAR the best thing about GrindHouse.
So whoever wants to make a 2 hour sequence of awesome trailers and fake commercials, you're damn welcome.
Also the best comedic war movie ever made is Hot Shots: Part Deux. It will remain unbeatable until the ends of time.
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Originally Posted by Poxpower
Also the best comedic war movie ever made is Hot Shots: Part Deux. It will remain unbeatable until the ends of time.
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"WAR. IT'S FANTASTIC!" -Commander Arvid Harbinger
"I will kill you until you die from it"
and
"We're gonna do this the old navy way. First one to die....loses!"
"These men have taken a supreme vow of celibacy, like their fathers, and their fathers before them..."
and
(Charlie and Martin Sheen passing each other) "I loved you in Wall Street!"
I wonder if Stiller got inspired by his cameo in Extras...?
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Having said that, I felt that the movie was pretty funny overall. This is especially the case with Robert Downey, Jr. who played the character with perfection. The cleverest ploy used in the movie would definitely have to be the trailers. It was the best way to sum up what each of the actors was about and poke fun at each of the movie genres.