Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder with Robert Downey
Best Stiller Comedy Since Zoolander: Tom Cruise, Jack Black
Aug 22, 2008
If there was any question that Ben Stiller is a genius at movie-making, "Tropic Thunder" dispels it forever. The movie cleverly opens with four fake trailers, each of which introduces the four main characters. There's rapper/actor wannabe Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), who hocks an energy drink called "Booty Sweat;" pretentious Method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), who shows off his five Oscars and lust for Tobey Maguire in "Satan's Alley;" substance-abusing Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), who sports a horrible blond bowl-cut and a gassy sense of humor in "The Fatties," and Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), who doubles down on a dying action franchise in the fifth retread of his once-successful career. (The voice-over for this trailer hilariously intones, "And when it happened for the third, fourth and fifth times, nobody saw it coming AGAIN.")
Believe it or not, it gets better from there.
No Vietnam War Cliché Left Behind
"Tropic Thunder" has so many layers, it's hard to know where to begin peeling them away. The Vietnam War movie clichés are hilarious in themselves. Nick Nolte is outstanding as "Four Leaf" Tayback, the author of the book upon which the movie is based. With two hooks for hands, greasy hair and a voice filled with gravel and gravitas, Nolte is the epitome of the lone, mysterious American warrior. When asked what kind of gun he carries, "Four Leaf" rumbles: "I don't know what it's called. I only know the sound it makes when it takes a man's life." As for the movie within the movie, the explosions are too big, the gore is unconvincing, and the acting is, well...horrible. The actors might think they're making a great movie, but the audience knows it's a stinker.
Spoofing Actors and Acting
Ben Stiller makes supremely effective fun of his profession in "Tropic Thunder." Each of the main characters represents a different type of thespian. Stiller himself is the action star who wants to show he can do more than blow things up, although his attempt at portraying a mentally challenged person went unrewarded at the box office. Robert Downey Jr. is the Method actor so extreme, he undergoes a skin-darkening procedure in order to more convincingly play an African-American. (Downey Jr.'s performance is simply a marvel; a high-wire act that would cause most actors to stumble and fall. He is very possibly our generation's finest.) Jack Black is the farting clown who wants to show he can be serious. Brandon T. Jackson is the ultimate "slash" wannabe, a rapper with no film experience who is most concerned with the amount of "Booty Sweat" he can sell.
Spoofing Directors, Agents and Producers
It's not just actors that are silly; their enablers and hangers-on who make so much money from their talent deserve ridicule as well. Matthew McConaughey (Tugg's agent) and an uncredited, almost unrecognizable Tom Cruise (the movie's producer) take hilarious turns at showing just how shallow and self-serving these types can be.
A Must-See - More Than Once
It's not often that a movie deserves more than one viewing, but "Tropic Thunder" is a shining example of satirical perfection. The movie's multilayered, sly intelligence guarantees that you're going to miss something the first time. Save your pennies and see it twice. You won't be disappointed.
