Movie review: Tropic Thunder

by Alex Bentley

Tropic Thunder, the new action comedy starring, written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, knows how to make a good first impression. The first five minutes of the film have nothing to do with the plot, yet they set a bar for hilarity that continues to be matched, if not exceeded, by the following 90 minutes.

Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a self-absorbed and somewhat dimwitted Hollywood action star whose latest film, Tropic Thunder, is an attempt to revive a stalling career that has the recent lowlights of Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown and Simple Jack. A motley crew of actors were brought in to complement him in the Vietnam War movie: Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a comedian most recently known for starring (in multiple roles) in The Fatties: Fart 2; Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.), an award-winning actor (most recently seen in Satan's Alley) so infatuated with Method acting that he’s undergone pigment alteration to play a black soldier; Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), a hip-hop star looking to broaden his acting resume; and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), a relative newcomer hoping to making a name for himself.

When the big budget action movie starts going off the tracks due to creative differences, the writer/inspiration for the film, Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte), convinces the director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), to take the actors “off the grid” and shoot the movie guerrilla style. Once in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle, though, the actors encounter drug runners who don’t take kindly to intrusion into their territory, though each actor has varying levels of acceptance as to whether the mayhem around them is real or just movie magic.

Tropic Thunder (the real movie, as opposed to the movie within the movie) succeeds mostly because it always makes fun of everyone involved with the movie within the movie (and Hollywood predilections in general) instead of doing a spoof of war movies. In doing so, Stiller (along with co-writers Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen) avoids the clichés and predictability of such films. And surprise is a big factor in Tropic Thunder – from cameos to unexpected plot twists, Stiller and Co. keep you wondering what’s going to come next until the very last frame.

Tropic Thunder also takes full advantage of its R-rating, following a trend popularized by Judd Apatow. Profanity, violence, drugs – all are used to their best effect, which in this case means almost more funny moments than the film can handle. There are so many consecutive outstanding jokes in a row at times that the audience’s laughter drowns out many punchlines.

Many actors’ reputations are at least slightly rehabbed just by their association with the film. Stiller, Tobey Maguire (in cameo form), Matthew McConaughey, and one very notable actor whose presence I won't spoil here all put in their best work in years. Of the remaining main actors, Downey, Jr. turns in his second stellar performance in a row (following Iron Man). His complete immersion into the dual-layered role of Kirk Lazarus/Lincoln Osiris is a sight to behold and hear, and would be the best thing in the film were it not for the presence of that "very notable actor." Other solid performances include Danny McBride as the go-for-broke explosions expert and SNL’s Bill Hader as a studio sycophant.

Truth be told, there’s not a wrong step to be had in Tropic Thunder. Stiller has crafted a pitch-perfect send-up of Hollywood idiosyncrasies, and since he's using himself and some of Hollywood's biggest stars to do so, another layer of comedy is added to the film. He’s also put together a fine action movie in its own right. With all due respect to WALL-E and The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder may just be the best movie of the summer.

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