Tropic Thunder

August 13, 2008

Rated: R Runtime: 107 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Tropic Thunder is not a war movie.   Instead it is a war movie movie.   But this isn’t the same sort of silly send up as something like Scary Movie.  Although you’ll see nods to movies like Platoon and Rambo, this is almost more of a parody of actors and Hollywood in general.

Ben Stiller in Tropic ThunderBen Stiller stars and directs.  We were scared of that combo because we kept having Zoolander flashbacks.   This time he again goes over the top, but stops short of being nauseating.   This is at least partially thanks to being surrounded by other strong cast members who help dilute things.

Ben, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel play 4 actors starring in a Vietnam war film.   However, they end up in real combat with Vietnamese drug lords.   What makes this work is the mix of characters, each actor plays a stereotype of a different “problem” personality type.   Ben is the washed up action hero trying to prove he’s a real actor.   Jack Black is the druggy.   Jay Baruchel is the star struck unknown.   Jackson plays the rapper turned actor.  And the scene stealer is Robert Downey Jr. playing a blonde haired blue eyed Australian 5 time Oscar winner.   Who could they possibly be thinking of when they wrote that character?   Oh,  and by the way, he is such a character actor that he got his skin dyed to play a black man, and he of course refuses to slip out of character until “the DVD commentary is done”.

This makes for a funny funny combination with each of the characters having some really great memorable lines.   Tropic Thunder has potential to be one of those movies that guys quote from for years.   It may also be one of the most politically incorrect movies shot in a long time.   But so far not a lot of controversy even with Downey going “black face”.   The reason?   The movie is hysterical, it’s not offensive it’s just funny as heck.

Tropic Thunder is likely to end up being one of those late summer releases that does ok at the box office, but quickly goes to DVD and really mops up.    We give it a very strong 4 stars.   We laughed til our sides hurt.   And if nothing else, you have to see this one to see what has to be Tom Cruise’s best performance ever.   I wont spoil that, just go see for yourself.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Ben Stiller, Comedy, Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Nick Nolte, R, Robert Downey Jr., Theatrical, Tom Cruise 

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