Tropic Thunder is about the production of a film with the same name. A movie based on an event in the Vietnam War that is going down as the most expensive war film that might never be made, due to multiple issues with the director and leading actors. The director, Damien Cockburn, gets the idea to shoot the film guerrilla-style and takes the actors to a secluded part of the country to get them under control. The actors however have stumbled upon the territory of Flaming Dragon, a heroin drug cartel that the leading actor, Tugg Speedman, unknowingly thinks are part of the film. In my opinion, while the story alone works fine, I do feel that it could have more potential. Perhaps more of the actors should have been under the impression that the drug cartel is part of the film or for them to catch on much later that they are in serious trouble. However, changing the story would probably change the characters, which would undermine them and the charasmatic actors. The humour is done in a uniquely, fantastic job. From the fake movie trailers at the start to establish the actors, the characters in general, the line deliveries, the funny situations that happen like dancing producers or real gun fights but with blanks. There is a lot of zany comedy that will ensure laughs from anyone. That's not to say that every joke works though. There is one joke in the middle of a film where the word retard gets used over and over, which is in poor taste and not very funny compared to the rest of the film. It might turn some people off from the rest of the film, but it is just a bad, offensive, joke in a jar of very good jokes.
The characters are no doubt the strongest element in this film. Ben Stiller as Speedman is great as the aging action star that always wanted the chance to be recognized for his acting talent. At times, Speedman can act a bit too silly as if Stiller is turning him into Derek Zoolander, despite Speedman isn't written to be a complete idiot. Jack Black as Jeff Portnoy is well-done as a drug-addict comedian, but feels like a typical Black performance but with the crazy drug withdraws. However, the best performance in the film that even got an Oscar nomination to everyone's surprise is Robert Downey Jr as Kirk Lazarus, an Academy-Award winning method actor, who has transformed into his role as an African-American sergeant and refuses to break character whatsoever. Although this sound completely racist, the movie pokes fun at the idea with characters speaking their mind about his acting and how absorbed he is at the role. It also helps that Downey has some of the best lines in the film. There are a bunch of side characters who are also fun to watch from Jay Baruchel as Sandusky, Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino, a closeted gay rapper, Matthew McConaughey as Peck, Speedman's agent, and the most memorable side character in the film, Les Grossman, a hot-headed producer played by an unrecognizable Tom Cruise. The entire cast is enjoyable and are very fun to watch work off each other, which is what good comedies should have.
While Ben Stiller isn't recognized as a great director compared to his acting career, a lot of his talent is shown in the film. What is unique in the direction is how the shots can switch from looking professional and commercial, to guerrilla and novice. The professional shots are mostly used during the scenes that are in the fictional films, while the more guerrilla style of shots are used when the actors are in the territory of Flaming Dragon, probably to sell the idea that these shots are in reality and are captured by hidden cameras set up by Cockburn. It's very good filmmaking from Stiller. What is extremely well-done are the action sequences. Stiller made the actions scenes very exciting despite the odd circumstances in the film. Outside of the first action scene which is part of the film being made, the scenes where the actors are fighting Flaming Dragon are done with cool yet hilariously since we know that the actors only have blanks while the drug cartel are actually trying to kill them, but the actors just have amazing luck to survive these attacks. Another funny thing is that no one actually dies in these action scenes, which is similar to the climax of another action-comedy, Hot Fuzz. It fits the tone to the film perfectly, since no one would want to see any of the actors dying and if the actors actually killed any of the bad guys, that would be messed up. The musical score is not often used, but it is supposed to be a generic action/war template, which fits the idea that the movie that is being made is just a generic war film outside of the star power. The songs though are placed in either very fitting or very comedic moments, which is mostly attributed with Grossman dancing to rap or hip-hop songs in two memorable scenes. I believe that this is Stiller's best film he has ever directed.
Tropic Thunder is a well-made comedy with great amount of laughs, hilarious performances, talented directing from Stiller, and some funny yet awesome action scenes, although the potential of an even stronger narrative is present. The question at the end of the day is if the film is very offensive. Personally, outside of the overly long joke regarding the word retard, the film is really not that offensive compared to many other black comedy shows or films. People might point to Downey's performance or the fictional film that is used in the film, "Simple Jack", which is a film about a mentally-handicapped man. In my eyes, "Simple Jack" is kind part of a bigger joke relating to Speedman and Hollywood films as a whole. As for Downey's performance as Lazarus, that got an Oscar nomination, which means that the Academy and critics bought in to the joke of the character overall. At the end of the day, if you don't find the "retard" joke funny at all and it personally offends you, I understand. If you however can look past the one rotten joke, the film is a nice, funny bundle that is a one of a kind deal.
Verdict: 8/10. The story potential and offensive elements holds the film back a bit for me, but this is still a very good comedy that you should check out if you want to see a legendary performance from Downey.
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