Tropic Thunder
Rated: R
Ben Stiller needs to stick to writing and directing his own material. While Tropic Thunder, his first directorial effort in seven years, doesn't have the replay value of Zoolander, it's still a must- see comedy that delivers major laughs. Hollywood A-listers Tugg Speedman (Stiller), Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) are making a massive Vietnam action film. When their director (Steve Coogan) decides to make the film "guerilla-style", the cast finds themselves in a real battle for their lives, although some are too self-absorbed to see it. Tropic Thunder is never quite as good as its first act. It leads off with a fake commercial for a product called "Booty Sweat" marketed by rapper-actor Alpa Chino (a character's who is much funnier than his name) followed by three fake trailers each giving us a good idea of the three actors. The first act is heavily satirical, taking aim at all the Hollywood stereotypes and their work but then the film turns to a parody of Vietnam war films once the boys are in the jungle. The film still has laughs and it comes close to what it accomplishes in the first forty minutes, but Stiller gets a little too in love with the set pieces and moving the plot forward rather than just letting the characters interact which is when the film shines. Of course the performance everyone will be talking about is Downey Jr. playing an actor playing a black sergeant and won't break character. There's another performer who hasn't been showcased in any of the advertising for the film and you would do well to avoid spoilers because when you see it, it's really gonna knock your socks off. However, on a second viewing, it's Downey that remains strong while the shock and awe of this mystery performer doesn't get the big laughs from me it had on the first viewing. But Downey isn't carrying the film alone. He's got support from a wonderfully filthy Jack Black carrying the film's gross-out humor, Danny McBride delivering some of the film's more memorable lines, and Jay Baruchel who gets to be the film's hero which makes me smile since I've liked him ever since I first saw Undeclared seven years ago. Tropic Thunder is a film with a lot of fun surprises and it’s the humor I wish Stiller would do more of rather than bland family fare like "Night at the Museum" and toothless romantic comedies like Along Came Polly. The guy has a twisted sensibility which he shouldn't try to deny and when he applies it to an entire film, he comes out with one of the year's best comedies. Words by
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