Tropic Thunder rumbles with laughter

Tropic Thunder
107 minutes
Rated-R
Directed by Ben Stiller
Starring:  Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.

 

Grade:  B+

Back to back weekends of highly anticipated comedies, Tropic Thunder rumbles pass the hype and looks like it will be the last notable film of this summer (unless somehow the teen flicks Disaster Movie and The House Bunny are well-received… which will then lead to flying pigs).  Ben Stiller takes charge on the screen, and behind the camera, to this extremely funny satire of Hollywood actors and the people behind the movies.  He plays Tugg Speedman, an action star that resembles Sylvester Stallone.  In his attempt to prove he can actually act, Tugg starred in Simple Jack and played a mentally challenged young man who talks to animals.  Of course, the film flopped and has since made his career a mockery.

Tugg teams up with Jeff Portnoy (Black) and Kirk Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.) in an epic war movie retelling the heroic tale of Four Leaf (Nick Nolte).  They all have something to prove.  Jeff, known for his film The Fatties that imitates Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor, wants to show the world he’s more than just a man who makes fart jokes.  Kirk Lazarus is an Australian actor who won five Oscars and is known for his commitment to method acting by falling deep into the film’s character.  He continues this with a controversial procedure to make his skin darker to play the role of Sgt. Lincoln Osiris who is an African American officer.  Downey’s character pokes fun at actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis who lose themselves in their role.  His consistency in character annoys the other actors, especially African American, hip-hop turned actor Alpa Chino who finds his mannerisms insulting.

The plot is similar to 80’s comedy Three Amigos in the sense that they’re both about actors who are thrown in a real life situation but think they’re acting throughout.  And once they find out, they’re already neck-deep in trouble there’s nothing left to do but stick it out and act like true heroes.  Of course, this shtick provides a lot of humor throughout, with most of the laughs coming from Robert Downey Jr.  His performance is so knee-slapping funny that he completely outshines his funnymen co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black.  The supporting cast and cameos are the icing on the cake of Tropic Thunder.  With fake trailers in the beginning that serve as much enjoyment as the Grindhouse previews, and then add Tobey Maguire, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Jay Baruchel, Matthew McConaughey, and the scene stealing Tom Cruise as a crazed studio executive, you have the funniest movie of 2008. 

Tropic Thunder is daring at times as it pokes fun at the mentally challenged, terrorism, child soldiers, and color barriers.  Some will find these jokes as tasteless or crude, but in the context of the film, the ignorant and spoiled actors are so numb to the world it’s a portrayal of how they’re simply full of themselves.  It’s not a cheap shot to insult the disabled, it’s merely a showcase to laugh at actors. 

I felt Ben Stiller did a great job all-around acting, directing, writing, and producing this film.  In my opinion this is Stiller’s best and funniest film in his career.  It’s bold, funny, and explosive with non-stop laughs at a neck-breaking pace.