While watching this film, I was reminded of a Mark Twain quote: "Cheer up. The worst is yet to come." This applies to the five lead actors in Tropic Thunder, a film, which is based off a book by a former Vietnam vet (Nick Nolte). The actors, unwittingly, think they're filming a movie, but are in fact, thrust into a war against druglords.
As the film opens, we're treated to three faux movie trailers and one commercial. Each displaying the actor's latest films. These set off the laughs right away. Then we get a narration by Nolte, who plays "Four Leaf" Tayback. We see a destructive battle in Vietnam going on, actually a scene from the movie, Tropic Thunder (the one in the film). Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, an action star who's trying to ditch the cheesy action films and go for something a little more dramatic. He's also trying to recover from his latest film, where he portrayed a mentally challenged farmhand with a gift for reading horses minds. We're told that the film was a critical failure (dubbed "one of the worst films of all time") and a box-office bomb. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a Russell Crowe-type actor who's so into method acting, he undergoes skin pigmentation to portray an African-American soldier. We also get Jeff Portnoy, the Eddie Murphy of the group. A comic actor with a serious heroin addiction. The other two are rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). They can't seem to get serious about the film. Fed up with everything, the film's director (Steve Coogan), takes advice from "Four Leaf" and thrusts them into the jungle wilds, with hidden cameras watching their every move. Only, when they're left on their own, they think they're still filming, especially Speedman, who doesn't know that the druglords are, in fact, killer druglords.
What's their to say about this film? It's hilarious in every way. I've always been a fan of the movie-within-a-movie genre, and this definitely reaches the top of my list. Downey, Jr. is the best of all (and not that controversial), but the rest of the cast does an excellent job. Stiller's direction is great. We also get hilarious support from Matthew McConaughey as Tugg's agent and Tom Cruise as an egomanical, bald, overweight producer. Much to my surprise, Tom Cruise is freakin' hilarious in this role. Tropic Thunder is explosive in every way.
As the film opens, we're treated to three faux movie trailers and one commercial. Each displaying the actor's latest films. These set off the laughs right away. Then we get a narration by Nolte, who plays "Four Leaf" Tayback. We see a destructive battle in Vietnam going on, actually a scene from the movie, Tropic Thunder (the one in the film). Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, an action star who's trying to ditch the cheesy action films and go for something a little more dramatic. He's also trying to recover from his latest film, where he portrayed a mentally challenged farmhand with a gift for reading horses minds. We're told that the film was a critical failure (dubbed "one of the worst films of all time") and a box-office bomb. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a Russell Crowe-type actor who's so into method acting, he undergoes skin pigmentation to portray an African-American soldier. We also get Jeff Portnoy, the Eddie Murphy of the group. A comic actor with a serious heroin addiction. The other two are rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). They can't seem to get serious about the film. Fed up with everything, the film's director (Steve Coogan), takes advice from "Four Leaf" and thrusts them into the jungle wilds, with hidden cameras watching their every move. Only, when they're left on their own, they think they're still filming, especially Speedman, who doesn't know that the druglords are, in fact, killer druglords.
What's their to say about this film? It's hilarious in every way. I've always been a fan of the movie-within-a-movie genre, and this definitely reaches the top of my list. Downey, Jr. is the best of all (and not that controversial), but the rest of the cast does an excellent job. Stiller's direction is great. We also get hilarious support from Matthew McConaughey as Tugg's agent and Tom Cruise as an egomanical, bald, overweight producer. Much to my surprise, Tom Cruise is freakin' hilarious in this role. Tropic Thunder is explosive in every way.
3 1/2 stars
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