Tropic Thunder (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | War

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:

Actor | Rescue | Southeast Asia | Drugs | Blackface

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	6:15 PM	MAX
Sun. Nov. 15	11:15 AM	MAX
Sun. Nov. 15	10:00 PM	MAX

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

107 min | USA:121 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-13 | Brazil:16 | Singapore:M18 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Africa:16LV | Germany:12 | USA:R (NO. 44367) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | France:U | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Argentina:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 | Austria:12 | Denmark:15 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Hong Kong:III | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Tom Cruise co-stars as a vulgar movie mogul in this movie. Ben Stiller played Cruise in a sketch on Saturday Night Live in which Cruise played "Celebrity Jeopardy" and also played Cruise's idiotic stunt double "Tom Croose" in a sketch at the 2000 MTV movie awards.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the gang are sitting and talking around the campfire, the rifle leaning on the rock between Alpha and Sandusky appears/disappears between angle shots.

Quotes:

Tugg Speedman: Now, let's go get those Viet Congs.
[cocks his gun]
Alpa Chino: "Viet Cong!"
Tugg Speedman: What?
Alpa Chino: It's "viet cong." There's no "s," it's already plural. You wouldn't say "Chineses..."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Escalation

Although it is right on the edge of disaster, the film is actually pretty funny and smart if you go with it

When an all-star Vietnam film is put in the hands of a first time British director, the results are an ego-dominated shambles that is a month behind schedule after only five days of shooting. Director Damien Cockburn makes a decision that the experiences of "Four Leaf" Tayback will be best captured on film by dropping the basic cast in the jungle and forcing them to experience as close to reality as possible while catching it all on camera. Sadly when Cockburn is killed by a mine mere minutes into the mission, the cast are left in the middle of a dangerous jungle, not entirely sure of whether this is real or not.

When I went to see this film I hadn't expected it to be much more than a basic comedy but the reality is that this is a pretty smart satire of Hollywood and movie acting that also produces silly laughs one would expect from a Ben Stiller film. The "black-face" issue has been mentioned in regards the film walking a fine line between being funny or offensive but to me the bigger tightrope act is between being funny and being stupidly silly. Here and there it gets very close to falling over that line (eg all of Tom Cruise's stuff) but if you are with it then it manages to just about stay on the right side of the line. The daft plot allows for micky-taking in regards big studio action movies, spoilt actors, bad projects, studio executives and so on – it is never sensible but it is mostly very funny. I think the film doesn't always succeed though because it sort of straddles two stools and those who want one or the other will have reservations while the smaller number who recognise both stools will perhaps see flaws on both. To explain that better I should probably say what I mean rather than referring to furniture and backsides. See as a satire it is undeniably broad and clumsy with the digs being made in clever but still quite obvious ways and you do have plenty of laughs that are knock-about that don't sit with those looking for smart satire. On the other hand you have those who love the silliness of it but don't really "get" it when it is trying to make digs even if they laugh their heads off at a character eating blood in the misunderstanding of it being a special effect. Somehow though it just about works by just going all out for it and things like the racial issues, anti-Semitic stuff etc all hang together sufficiently.

The cast are a big part of making it work. Stiller is solid throughout and works his character as well as he makes fun of him. Downey Jr is very impressive as the deep-method actor who produces the controversy. Black is a necessary evil but at least his character's drug addiction makes him of value within the satire even if his performance is still a fat guy shouting. I liked the support from both Baruchel and Jackson, who held their own alongside the starry cast. The rest of the cast include solid turns from Nolte, Coogan, Maguire (great superhero movie reference), Pollack and others are all in the shadow of a great Tom Cruise who to me is the one we should be talking about when it comes to controversy tightropes. He is always about an inch away from being embarrassingly silly but yet he pulls it off.

Tropic Thunder is not a perfect film by any means. The satire and the knock-about humour don't compliment one another that well but somehow it all works and the majority of the risky moves are pulled off even if it is not quite as clever as it would like to be. To some it will be the stupidest thing they have ever seen, to others – the funniest; the truth is somewhere in the middle and it is enjoyable for it.