Tropic Thunder a hilarious satire of Hollywood

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2008)

Ben Stiller is a pretty funny guy, in case you weren't aware of this. Whether working on his own short-lived sketch comedy series to starring in films for the Farrelly Brothers to directing and starring in his own theatrical productions, Stiller does not disappoint. So, it is no surprise that his most recent directorial turn, Tropic Thunder, is a pretty funny movie. A satire of Hollywood and war movies, Tropic Thunder delivers the laughs in spades and proves to be one of the funniest movies of 2008.
Tropic Thunder features a film in production based on a true life story by "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte), the survivor of a major Vietnam war battle who lost his hands in the process. The film is being headlined by down-on-his-luck action star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), method actor extrordinaire Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr) and drug-addled comedy star Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), each of which is proving intolerable to work with for director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan).
After being threatened to be shut down by a studio executive, Cockburn is given a bit of inspired advice from Tayback: take the actors into the jungle with just the director and shoot the film documentary style. There is one problem with this plan: the jungle they land in is controlled by drug growers who take some of the actors hostage, leaving the others to formulate a plan to save their comrades, while fighting their own lack of real world skills and prima donna attitudes.
Tropic Thunder is a film that, for the most part, isn't afraid to skewer some major Hollywood troupes. The ridiculousness of some method actors, the sense of entitlement by major stars, the desire for directors to make a major "statement", the willingness of agents to go to extremes for their clients and finally, the over-the-top, do my bidding attitude of "mega" producers, Stiller and fellow screenwriters Justin Theroux and Etan Coen leaves few stones unturned in their search for things to satirize. Most of the jokes hit home, providing an abundance of laughs.
The screenplay is helped in large measure by it's actors, especially Robert Downey, Jr, Jack Black and Tom Cruise. Downey, Jr's turn as Kirk Lazarus is absolutely hilarious, portraying a man who gets cosmetic procedures to darken his skin so that he can portray an African American member of the original military squad. Like behavior that is reported about many method actors, Lazarus refuses to break character at all, always acting as if he is an African American. The results are side- splitting at times, and Downey, Jr, experiencing a resurgence in his career, delivers a knock out performance. Black uses his usual manic energy to good effect as Portnoy, who finds himself trapped in the jungle with no drugs and quickly going through a rather tough withdrawal. But, the show is completely stolen by Tom Cruise as producer Les Grossman. Covered in makeup and a fat suit, Cruise brings the foul-mouthed, hip-hop dancing producer to life to great comic effect. While Cruise has a smaller part, when he is on the screen, you largely can't help but crack up laughing.
Tropic Thunder is not for everybody: it is filled with a decent amount of violence and gore, and is laced top to bottom with vulgar language, so if you are easily offended, Tropic Thunder is not going to be for you. But if you appreciate a smart satire of modern Hollywood, you don't have to look any further than Tropic Thunder.