The Essentials
Title: Tropic Thunder (Official Site)
Directed by Ben Stiller
Written by Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen
Running Time: 1:47
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.
The Plot of Tropic Thunder
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film. But after ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.
The Review of Tropic Thunder
After watching about five seconds of Tropic Thunder you already know you’re in store for the kind of movie you can never let your parents watch or never take a first date to see. It opens with some of the most vulgar language you could expect and quickly builds from there.
I wasn’t surprised to hear that different groups would be boycotting this film since there’s no way someone wasn’t going to be offended by something. I really thought it would be something to do with Robert Downey, Jr.’s character more than something to do with events that involve the “mentally handicap,” but either way, I knew it would happen.
Tropic Thunder is the kind of vulgar, boisterous comedy we’ve come to expect these days and with people like Ben Stiller and Jack Black involved you never really know what you’re going to get. I have to admit that I laughed…a lot…out loud. I think I even clapped once. The audience I saw the movie with was really in to it and applauded on several scenes and when the film ended.
I won’t bother you by rehashing the basic premise of the movie as the previews tell you pretty much everything you need to know. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, and Matthew McConaughey had much more substantial roles than we had been led to believe. In fact, everything you’ve been hearing about Tom Cruise in this film is pretty much true. He had maybe ten minutes worth of screen time, but he made every second count. I’m not sure how much was him and how much was the script, but kudos to him for taking a chance and taking the role. I think the Tom Cruise hate mongers will have a lot less to talk about once they see him in this movie. If the Academy gave Best Supporting Actor nominations to comedic actors I’d say Cruise was a lock (alas, they seldom do so he’s probably not got a great chance - and zero chance of winning against Heath Ledger’s Joker).
The plot was nothing more than an outline for the events of the film but that’s pretty much what you’d expect to see in this type of film. The script itself teetered between hilarious and juvenile. I’m not a huge fan of the Ben Stiller style of comedy so I’m guessing the parts I didn’t care for were due to that aspect.
The acting was great although I felt Jack Black’s unique talents were virtually wasted. Stiller did a suitable job, but his character didn’t have many of the bigger laughs. Robert Downey, Jr., despite his recent anti-Batman comments will win back a lot of fans after a performance that borders on unexplainable. In the film he plays a five time Oscar winning Australian method actor who undergoes a procedure to change the color of his skin so he can play a black guy in the war movie they’re making. It’s virtually impossible to tell that you’re watching Downey when he’s in that character. He also managed to play for more than a few laughs.
There was a surprising amount of action in the film and it was easy to see where they spent a lot of the reported $100M budget. Stiller did a nice job of directing, but nothing groundbreaking.
I would have to say that I enjoyed the film and I laughed a lot, but I think this is the kind of movie that will become much more popular even on DVD when people can have drinking parties and watch it with their friends. I have a feeling a lot of the scenes would have been even funnier if one had a group of rowdy friends hanging out with them and laughing along. However, never would I recommend this movie to my parents (or anyone over the age of 55-60) and it’s definitely not appropriate for anyone under the age limit.
Watch Tropic Thunder If…
You have a couple of hours to kill and you feel like having some cheap, non-politically correct laughs at the expense of various groups including the mentally challenged, the music industry and the movie business.
Second person I've heard who says Jack Black was kind of wasted here…interesting.
Need to check this out.
“I think this is the kind of movie that will become much more popular even on DVD when people can have drinking parties and watch it with their friends.”
As if we need an excuse to have a drinking party.
No, though we may need an excuse to watch this movie again…
The excuse: I haven't seen it yet.
I agree. Not one of Jack's best