Very Good Movie But A Tiring Plot

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2010)

"Tropic Thunder" is very high up there as one of 2008's more entertaining films and also shows that comedies don't necessarily have to go overboard with slapstick silliness or stupid repetitive one-liners. One of the main weak points however, was that the story tends to lack in any original concepts that it gets very average to say the least. The actors and their performances are what carries the movie and successfully transforms a rather mundane story into something incredibly riveting to show that comedies do have places in the Academy Awards. It just needs to be handled more productively and the right people to direct them.
The story is about a group of thespians starring in a Vietnam War movie in hopes this bags in a few awards along the way. However, the director of this movie (Steve Coogan) decides to spruce things up a bit by putting his performers in the actual location where this alleged "true story" took place and the actors find themselves in a precarious situation where real adversaries inhabit the location of where the movie is being shot. The comedy depends on the actors who unconsciously don't believe they're in danger.
When you compare it to other comedies, like "Zoolander", and "Napoleon Dynamite" and whatnot, the comical elements have bee lowered down by quite a notch. Not to say "Tropic Thunder" wasn't funny, but not as funny as I anticipated. The one who stood out was Robert Downey Jr. as an Australian Caucasian playing an African American as he gets into character and delivers some of the best lines in the movies. For all you sensitive viewers, fear not. There is no ounce of stereotyping in Downey's character. So please, don't take any kind of offence towards the character. I felt more offended when Christopher Walken played an Asian in "Balls of Fury". Even though Ben Stiller is the man of the hour in this movie, he still plays the same roles he's played in the past decade. Sure the naive schtick suits better in low-brow comedies he's been in, "Tropic Thunder" just doesn't cut it here. Jack Black I like very much, but here he has little to do or say here which is sad because his comic antics could have been put to good use.
In an odd twist in the story and a very unforgettable scenes pits Tom Cruise as the mentally unbalanced Les Grossman demanding the key grip to clobber the director. It strange because in most films, Cruise is playing it straight and cool. Here as Grossman, he comes off as sympathetic character who just has an uncontrollable cursing problem. I thought the creepy dancing scene near the end lacked the coherency of the movie which was very pointless.
A wonderful movie overall, but I think the performers really poured their hearts out in giving us a comedy to look back and enjoy for many years to come. I just wished the writers found more comical moments instead of depending on the cast to carry the movie on their own. But I will say that it was brave of Downey to play a black man without trying to acting silly or even clichéd to the point where our ultra-sensitive viewers won't mash their teeth in anger. Go see it I assure you, you will be mesmerized.