Smart Satire

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2014)

Believe it or not Ben Stiller was once very funny
" That's right Theo . In one film with Cameron Diaz "
You've just given away the punchline so shut up and don't interrupt again . But that sums up Stiller . THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY is a double edged sword . Even for someone like myself who is not keen on the comedy genre that film was exceptionally brilliant and for years afterwards everyone looked forward to seeing Stiller in a film that if it was a fraction as funny as THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY would still have been a classic comedy . Sadly it didn't happen and by the time TROPIC THUNDER came out audiences had given up on Stiller . This is a great pity because TT is a scathing satire on Hollywood and anyone who classes themselves as a movie fan will love this
It hits the ground running and we're treated to some smart spoof trailers and the film continues in the same vein where Hollywood is making a Vietnam war epic and the over wrought nature of it is matched by the fact it's over budget and well behind schedule and this is the least of the problems as the cast of method actors are about to be kidnapped by violent bandits .
There's somethings that are recognisable to the satire . Obviously this mock film owes direct references to APOCALYPSE NOW and PLATOON but they go a bit deeper than this . I take it Kirk Lazerus is a hybrid of Russell Crowe and Daniel Day Lewis while substance abuser Jeff Portnoy is inspired by Philip Seymour Hoffman ( Which wouldn't have been evident at the time ) while Stiller's character one time movie Idol whose stardom has almost disappeared might be a direct nod to Tom Cruise . Actually the one possible failing of the film is Cruise in the role of Leo Grossman , the cynical and ruthless studio head . Cruise doesn't do cynical or ruthless and he fails to convince as a heartless philistine anymore than he convinces that's bald and short sighted . This is a small failing and rightfully the film concentrates on the dilemma faced by a mob of method actors stuck in a dangerous situation