Joe’s Review: Tropic Thunder
September 2, 2008 by Joe
I finally got around to seeing this movie, and after hearing all the controversy about it, I have to say that it was really overhyped. If you don’t know about the uproar this movie caused, you can read about it here. Basically, it was that people felt the movie was making too much fun of “retarted” people. If you watch the movie and check out the scene they’re talking about, it wasn’t really that bad. I’m sure that the director knew what he was doing, and it was all really taken out of context. There was no reason to make a big stink of it, and I for one believe it is still worth seeing.
Tropic Thunder is a movie based on a movie that a group of guys made about a book that a guy wrote about something that happened to him during the Vietnam War. As if that last sentence wasn’t confusing enough already, it stars a whole bunch of guys who look like they were just thrown together to make a movie. A drug addict, a washed up action star, a young kid who is looking to make it big, a black dude, and a guy who’s playing a black dude. Throw in their crazy producer Les Grossman and agent Rick Peck, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a comedy.
The movie starts out with an amazing action scene, filled with explosions. Well, it didn’t really start there, but I missed the fake previews and commercials… think Grindhouse, but with comedy instead of horror. I’ll have to check them out the next time I’m at the theatre. In any case, from the beginning of the film, the actors are having trouble getting along with each other. Stiller’s character, Tugg Speedman, feels like he’s constantly in the shadow of Kirk Lazarus, one of the best character actors ever. Add to this the fact that their movie is already behind schedule and way over budget after just one day of filming. When this gets back to Les Grossman, he is extremely angry and demands that the movie get back on schedule or they’ll never work in Hollywood again.
The director, Damien Cockburn, is at a loss. He doesn’t know what to do to bring the guys together and allow them to be able to work together. Fourleaf Taybeck (Nick Nolte), who wrote the book Tropic Thunder, has a suggestion: take the guys out of their comfort zone, and put them in a real situation. Little can he expect what could possibly go wrong with this, as the guys end up in a real dangerous situation, and they don’t even know that they’re not on the set anymore!
Through their journey, the guys find out more about themselves and each other, and bond… in a really hilarious way. I highly recommend this movie if you’re looking for a bunch of good laughs. It’s not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but it made me laugh.. and that’s all I’m looking for in a comedy.
Rating: 
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I think this film is one of the hilarious comedy films of 2008. I like Stiller, Black and Downey J.R here… they were really suited with the character.
I agree Jaccstev… this movie was awesome. I think they hit the nail on the head with it.