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What it's about:
Tropic Thunder is a Hollywood war movie that is running over budget and experiencing cast and crew problems. At the heart of the chaos is the spoiled, pampered cast – Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), a fading action star, Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), a white Australian method actor playing a black character, and Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a flatulent comedian with a heroin problem. Through a miscalculated attempt to inject some urgency and realism into the film, they get dumped in the Vietnam jungle, forced to fend for themselves amidst mercenaries and drug runners.
What we thought of it:
Ben Stiller is back! It’s been a long time since he’s starred in anything as gut-bustingly funny as Zoolander (2001) and it seemed he was in danger of fading into a chuckle-free middle age. Tropic Thunder should successfully push him back to the top of the comedy pack, both as a performer and a director.
The premise of Tropic Thunder is a bit farcical – a star laden big budget blockbuster that is meant to satirise star laden blockbusters, but it works surprisingly well. The writing is sharp, the jokes are frequent, and every big name involved seems happy to play against their stereotypes and look utterly ridiculous.
Although every character has their fair share of jokes, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise steal the show. The character of Kirk Lazarus has to be one of the most inspired comic creations of the past few years – a white Australian playing a black American man. He never lets the character drop either, and there are lots of belly laughs to be had from the friction between him and the justifiably offended Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), a black rapper trying to cross into acting.
Tom Cruise shows the world he has a sense of humour by playing the physically repulsive Les Grossman – a bald, hairy, chubby studio exec with a god complex and anger management issues. Whether he is belittling one of his unfortunate lackeys or doing one of his frequent, grotesque victory dances, he epitomises everything vulgar and crass behind the glamour of the film industry.
There has been some controversy over the film’s use of the word "retard", with various American groups protesting outside cinemas and so on. It relates specifically to a character called Simple Jack, played by Tugg Speedman (Stiller), which is a very accurate deflating of so-called serious movies about the mentally disabled, like Forrest Gump (1994). This character is comedy gold, smartly written as well – and, of course, there are guilty laughs aplenty, although there is no malice intended. Only a person totally devoid of a sense of humour would be offended.
Tropic Thunder occasionally lapses into silliness, but there is enough manic energy there to keep it moving forward. For this type of comedy, it’s amazingly well made and well written, and the quality is noticeable from the first frames. Some people might find some of the more low-brow jokes a bit crass, but everyone else should love this. If you are a fan of Ben Stiller, or American comedy, you simply have to see this.
- Ivan Sadler
Get published on Channel24! Send us your movie, music and live gig reviews and columns and get published on Channel24. Send your articles to PublishMe@sa.24.com.
Tropic Thunder is a Hollywood war movie that is running over budget and experiencing cast and crew problems. At the heart of the chaos is the spoiled, pampered cast – Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), a fading action star, Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), a white Australian method actor playing a black character, and Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a flatulent comedian with a heroin problem. Through a miscalculated attempt to inject some urgency and realism into the film, they get dumped in the Vietnam jungle, forced to fend for themselves amidst mercenaries and drug runners.
What we thought of it:
Ben Stiller is back! It’s been a long time since he’s starred in anything as gut-bustingly funny as Zoolander (2001) and it seemed he was in danger of fading into a chuckle-free middle age. Tropic Thunder should successfully push him back to the top of the comedy pack, both as a performer and a director.
The premise of Tropic Thunder is a bit farcical – a star laden big budget blockbuster that is meant to satirise star laden blockbusters, but it works surprisingly well. The writing is sharp, the jokes are frequent, and every big name involved seems happy to play against their stereotypes and look utterly ridiculous.
Although every character has their fair share of jokes, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise steal the show. The character of Kirk Lazarus has to be one of the most inspired comic creations of the past few years – a white Australian playing a black American man. He never lets the character drop either, and there are lots of belly laughs to be had from the friction between him and the justifiably offended Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), a black rapper trying to cross into acting.
Tom Cruise shows the world he has a sense of humour by playing the physically repulsive Les Grossman – a bald, hairy, chubby studio exec with a god complex and anger management issues. Whether he is belittling one of his unfortunate lackeys or doing one of his frequent, grotesque victory dances, he epitomises everything vulgar and crass behind the glamour of the film industry.
There has been some controversy over the film’s use of the word "retard", with various American groups protesting outside cinemas and so on. It relates specifically to a character called Simple Jack, played by Tugg Speedman (Stiller), which is a very accurate deflating of so-called serious movies about the mentally disabled, like Forrest Gump (1994). This character is comedy gold, smartly written as well – and, of course, there are guilty laughs aplenty, although there is no malice intended. Only a person totally devoid of a sense of humour would be offended.
Tropic Thunder occasionally lapses into silliness, but there is enough manic energy there to keep it moving forward. For this type of comedy, it’s amazingly well made and well written, and the quality is noticeable from the first frames. Some people might find some of the more low-brow jokes a bit crass, but everyone else should love this. If you are a fan of Ben Stiller, or American comedy, you simply have to see this.
- Ivan Sadler
Get published on Channel24! Send us your movie, music and live gig reviews and columns and get published on Channel24. Send your articles to PublishMe@sa.24.com.
