Tropic Thunder (2008)

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

Ben Stiller (screenplay) &
Justin Theroux (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Exploding Helicopter | Soldier | Torture | Hollywood Agent | Shot In The Back

Awards:

1 win

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jeff Kahn	...	Snooty Waiter
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Kirk Lazarus
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head
Jack Black	...	Jeff Portnoy
Jay Baruchel	...	Kevin Sandusky
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Alpa Chino
Ben Stiller	...	Tugg Speedman
Eric Winzenried	...	Chopper Pilot
Steve Coogan	...	Damien Cockburn
Valerie Azlynn	...	Damien's Assistant
Matt Levin	...	Cameraperson
David Pressman	...	First Assistant Director
Amy Stiller	...	Script Supervisor
Danny R. McBride	...	Cody (as Danny McBride)
Dempsey Silva	...	Special Effects Assistant

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:18A (British Columbia) | USA:R | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Ireland:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-13 | USA:R CORRECT: REPLACE WITH: (certificate #44367) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Brazil:16 | UK:15 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

Goldcrest Pictures

Trivia:

The movie drew criticism from several disability groups for the "Simple Jack" subplot, regarding a movie-within-a-movie in which Stiller's character portrays a mentally disabled man. Clips of the fictitious movie are shown, and re-enacted by Stiller, while scenes between Downey Jr. and Stiller drew particular scorn for their repeated use of the word "retard". The producers withdrew a "Simple Jack" website, and proposed altering the movie in response to a special early screening for the disability groups in question, but did not follow through on the suggestion. According to co-writer Etan Cohen, the scenes were not meant to derive humor from mental disability itself, but to satirize emotionally exploitative depictions of mental disability in movies such as Forrest Gump (1994) and Rain Man (1988), and the actors who take these roles.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Les Grossman is trying to make Rick Peck turn his back on Tugg, he calls the actor a white dwarf star headed for a black hole. White dwarf stars do not actually become black holes, but black dwarfs. Only the supernovas of giant stars create black holes.

Quotes:

Cody: [rigging a bridge with explosives] That's it! I'm going into catering after this!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Chaplin (1992)

Soundtrack:

Name of the Game

"He Who Must Not Be Named" brings down the house, steals what is probably the smartest, dumbest, and arguably the best comedy of 2008

Very rarely do comedies hit the mark in terms of both smart humor and dumb humor in the same movie, let alone the same scene. That's what we've got with Tropic Thunder, a comedy that excels in both satirical jokes and laugh out loud stupidity. If you're game for any of that, in addition to quite possibly the funniest and most shocking cameos of all time, then Tropic Thunder is the perfect movie to close the summer of 2008 with.

Ben Stiller has always been the poster boy for trying to mix these two severely different types of humor recently, and has failed in his other two main directing attempts (although Zoolander was funny). Here, he more than succeeds in making Hollywood the laughingstock of the summer, and who better than Stiller to do so, someone who has been around the business his entire life.

Obviously, what's going to get the most laughs is our cast, which is one of the best comedy casts assembled, in my opinion. Our supporting performers are just as strong, if not stronger than our big three leads (definitely stronger than Jack Black), and we are treated to some of the funniest cameos of all time...One of Tropic Thunder's cameos, one of the most famous and serious actors in the world, nearly steals the movie, and is funnier than the last time he did a role like this (Austin Powers 3). If you don't know who I'm talking about by now, just wait until you see him. He'll have you on the floor laughing by the end of the movie. Other cameos (including a Judd Apatow boy and a former People's Sexiest Man Alive) are entertaining, but they have nothing on the big guy.

Now, to the actual cast...Starting with Stiller himself. Stiller has always been great at playing over the top asses, and that's what his character here is. There's plenty of exaggeration, plenty of laughs, but I felt there could have been more arrogance and more development in his character. The film belongs to Robert Downey Jr. (why am I not shocked by this?), who could sneak a Golden Globe nomination in if he's lucky for his performance as super-serious star Kurt Lazarus. Downey is absolutely hilarious, yet believable as this actor who believes acting is larger than life, and provides for the best satire of all. Jack Black is, if anything, forgettable and provided few laughs (though he does deliver one of the funniest lines of the movie). Jay Baruchel and Brandon Jackson are great in their supporting roles, and were the most well rounded characters (especially Baruchel). Danny McBride (three out of the last four movies I've watched have had this guy in it) of Pineapple Express is just as great here in another hilarious role tailor made for him. Nick Nolte is an odd presence, but an asset nonetheless. Steve Coogan's short role is memorable.

Stiller's main point in the film was obviously to make fun of Hollywood and his fellow actors as well, and he succeeds enormously. The fact that mentally challenged rights groups are calling for boycotts only proves Stiller's point: we all need to chill out, and stop taking things so seriously (where's The Joker when you need him?). The "bad" scene where the characters say 'retard' a few times is actually one of the best satire scenes in the movie. The scene isn't making fun of mentally challenged people, rather the actors that have won Oscars for playing them. Dustin Hoffman and Peter Sellers are not spared.

Like Pineapple Express before it, Tropic Thunder suffers from a less than stellar second act, which is used to attempt to ground the film in reality. This is unnecessary. We know that this could never happen. Insurance policies wouldn't even let a director think about doing what Coogan's character does in this film. However, the film starts and finishes very well (in fact, it starts better than any comedy of the year). It finishes with roars of laughter, and even though it is just absurd, it doesn't matter, because we've had a great time along the ride. Yes, Tropic Thunder is vulgar, but nowhere near the other Apatow brand products out these days. There's some blood and graphic violence, but nothing too bad.