Mikey At The Movies!: Tropic Thunder

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder

Rated R

Running time: 1 hr 47 mins

Cast:

Ben Stiller
Robert Downey Jr.
Jack Black

Critical consensus:

***1/2 out of *****

Matt's Take:

A-

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

**** out of *****

The premise:

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

MY REVIEW

Tropic Thunder may very well be one of the years top comedies. To me, that isn't saying a whole lot though, because there haven't been a whole slew of great comedic films this year...in my opinion. This is a rated R film, but mainly for language and violence. What I appreciated was the fact there was a bare minimum of raunchy sexy jokes, and male and female nudity. The film was incredibly vulgar, yes, but that was very standable in my eyes.

The story is a good as it can be for a borderline spoof film. A group of cliched actors are thrown into a jungle in Southeast Asia to get a more realistic war film. A war film based off a book by a supposed war time hero, who now only has hooks for hands. It's actually quite a simple and fun story for a comedy these days. I mentioned spoof above. I feel this movie is spoofing the entertainment business. My good buddy Andy said it was like they were not only spoofing war films (like Platoon, Saving Private Ryan), but actors themselves, and I couldn't agree more. These characters are so over the top that they have to be making fun of actors.

The film was suprisingly "well-written" for a comedy. I use that loosely because it isn't a brilliant screenplay or one that will garner several award nominations, but it was funny! The movie is littered with hillarious one liners, and great dialogue for some characters. I never felt the humor was too ridiculous, and it never really re-used any of the same jokes as we see so often in comedies. To say the humor was "smart" may be a stretch, but I think the writing was just clever enough to not be in the same league as films like Step Brothers.

Tropic Thunder may also be the best acted comedy of this 2008 year to date. Leading the pack is Ben Stiller (There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents), playing his normal over the top comedy character, but a little toned down. The first half he's actually quite "normal" for Ben Stiller. He does a great job at portraying a clueless actor. The second half, more towards the end he tends to get a little too much to handle. Maybe that was the way his character was written though, not really his fault. Oh wait...it is...Ben Stiller co-wrote the film. Next in line is Jack Black. Those who know me well enough, know that I hate Jack Black in films like this, because I feel he tries way to hard to steal the show. Now his character is very loud and animated, but actually I thought he was funny. He actually has "reason" to be why he is, due to his characters tiny drug problem. After a while, he got on my nerves, but he wasn't in the film enough for me to hate him for long periods of time.

The two stars of the film, are the ones who were in "disguises". First I want to mention the great Oscar nominated actor, Robert Downey Jr (Charlie Bartlett, Iron Man). This guy once again steals the show. He immerses himself in this character, a black man, so well you are almost convinced he isn't Robert Downey Jr. He truly delivers an unforgettable performance here, and he is now three for three this year. He's quickly rising as one of my favorite actors. Next we have Oscar nominated actor, Tom Cruise (Magnolia, Jerry Maguire). I had no idea the man was in the film before I walked into the theater. He is disguised in a fat suit and a bald cap, but you can tell it's him. Cruise may be crazy on the outside, but when he acts, he is usually amazing and Tropic Thunder was no exception. He was probably the most vulgar of the characters, but he was so great, and so funny he may get a supporting actor nod from me. I have to mention Matthew McConaughey (Fool's Gold, We Are Marshall) as well. Another suprise turn, and he was pretty good himself.

I wasn't aware that Ben Stiller directed this film until the credits rolled. I'm not going to lie, I thought he did quite a stand up job with this movie. There was nothing overly cheesy about anything he did with the craft of the film. Some pretty well shot explosions, some good camera work, etc. He handled his own screenplay well too. Overall, Tropic Thunder was a very nice suprise in a year of crap comedies. I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone.