outlandish spoof of movies and movie-making

Rating: 8/10 (13 August 2008)

"Tropic Thunder" wears its political incorrectness as a badge of honor. With one white actor appearing in black face and another portraying a drooling, buck-toothed mentally retarded man, this big budget spoof of big budget movie-making is guaranteed to raise the hackles of a sizable chunk of the movie going public. Yet, my suspicion is that an even larger segment will be laughing right along with this loony satire that also takes on Hollywood values, movie industry insiders and action movie clichés at the same time.
It seems that every time a movie is set in an exotic locale, we are treated to stories about how the actors took part in some sort of movie "boot camp" to "toughen them up" for the ordeal ahead and to add a note of authenticity to their performances. "Tropic Thunder" has fun with that practice by dropping five pampered movie stars, dressed in full army fatigues and regalia, into the jungles of Vietnam as preparation for the mega-budget war picture they are currently appearing in. Unfortunately, make-believe quickly turns into reality when the quintet runs into some dangerous drug dealers who don't much care for these warlike intruders suddenly invading their turf.
Out of this setup, writers Ben Stiller (who also stars in and directed the film), Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen have fashioned a lively and frequently hilarious tale of clashing egos and comic misunderstandings that isn't afraid to cross over the line into tastelessness and vulgarity if that's what the material calls for. Robert Downey, Jr. steals the show as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor from the Lee Strasburg school of method acting, who has gone so far as to employ pigment-altering treatments as a means of fully immersing himself in the character he is playing, a bad-ass black man replete with fro wig and jive accent. Stiller is Tugg Speedman, a once sure-fire box office attraction whose recent career downturn has forced him to take roles in small, independent productions like "Simple Jack," in which he plays the part of a mentally retarded farm boy in the most offensive way imaginable (this has caused the film to be picketed by a number of anti-discrimination advocacy groups). Jack Black appears as Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addicted actor who goes into serious withdrawals after his secret slash of blow is swiped by a frenzied bat. Jay Baruchel and Brandon T. Jackson round out the thespian five-some as, respectively, a conscientious actor (he's actually read the script and the book on which it's based) and a rapper hoping to make it big in the movies.
Other noteworthy performers include Tom Cruise, barely recognizable beneath a scruffy beard, bald plate and prosthetic fat suit, as a manic, cutthroat producer who's more than willing to sacrifice his own actors if doing so will help to insure the bottom-line for the studio; Matthew McConaughey, as a frantic agent fully dedicated to fulfilling every wish of his demanding client; Nick Nolte, as a disabled Vietnam vet whose alleged personal experiences in combat serve as the basis for the film being made; and Danny McBride, as a special effects engineer who's finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between a squib he planted and an actual explosion set off by the heavily armed dealers.
Though "Tropic Thunder" is primarily an actors' picture, the performers would not have been able to pull it off without being handed such solid material to work with. In spite of a few inevitable dry spots and the occasional joke that simply doesn't work, the script deftly mixes sophisticated satire with lowbrow buffoonery. Not surprisingly, given its pedigree, the film is very knowing about the whole Hollywood scene, managing to parody war movie clichés right along with all the behind-the-scenes insider stuff related to the industry, particularly the demands and pressures involved in high stakes movie-making.
And it is a tribute to the makers of "Tropic Thunder" that they've not only refused to buckle under to those pressures, but that they've made attacking those pressures the very purpose of their movie. There is no doubt that many viewers are not going to be quite as charitable in their assessment of this film as I have been, and that is certainly their prerogative. But when so many Hollywood comedies these days are forced by the demands of bottom-line corporate interests into being as bland and inoffensive as possible, it's nice to come across one that is actually willing to take some risks once in awhile. In this case, at least, it would appear as if those risks have finally paid off.