"I'm a lead farmer, ...." - Kirk Lazarus

Rating: 9/10 (14 September 2008)

The only reason I didn't value "Zoolander" so much is because I didn't think it was a difficult thing to achieve; a parody of the world of male models. Yes, it was originally presented and the script made a good use of the predictable character descriptions, but nothing else. I don't intend to make a comparison because both share a signature (Ben Stiller's) and in both this is established from the beginning: with a flash about Derek and how being a male model is like in "Zoolander" and a few trailers that mock the film industry with audacity in "Tropic Thunder".
The film industry? Well, actually "Tropic Thunder" only messes with Hollywood, and it has no mercy. Stiller, intelligent as he is (although I don't like him as an actor very much), makes the wise choice of not taking on any political or religious issues, reducing everything down to the world he knows best; the world he lives in. After this decision, he elevates the risk by giving his comedy multiple dimensions and getting them all right.
Essentially, Stiller's movie (co-written by Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen) is a superproduction that parodies superproductions; a film inside a film. It has all the special effects and things blowing up, the epic sceneries and score (this latest one is a great work by Theodore Shapiro) and the superstars; the key-and this is all product of Stiller's intelligence- is how it uses them. It would be sufficient to say there's a big moment for the score (you could perceive it at the beginning or the end of the film; it involves Stiller in slow-motion), a huge one for the special effects and many for the sceneries (as we see helicopters flying and watching a 'jungle' from above in scenes that seem repeated but are different every time in a plot that never looses its frenetic nature).
However, the stars of the show are, wellthe stars. Stereotypes are all over the place: Jack Black (crazier than ever) plays an actor who has only done comedy involving farts and has drug addiction problems; Robert Downey Jr. is Kirk Lazarus, a 'methodic' actor, committed to his work and awards ("Second Globe, third Oscar", he says after he mentions a role he once played); Brandon T. Jackson personifies Alpa Chino, our typical music megastar that does everything and has to try acting because it can't hurt; and Ben Stiller is Tugg Speedman (or the same old Ben Stiller, but very measured and not at all out of control), the action movie man who has played the same role a thousand times but has also spent his whole career trying to be acknowledged as a 'serious' actor.
When all of this characters find themselves immerse in this 'jungle' where they were once shooting a movie, it's fair to say anything can happen; and it's also fair to clarify that everything happens. Stiller lets loose and everything he keeps measured as an actor, he unloads it in the tone of the production and in every other performer, letting each and every one of them to explode. Nick Nolte and Steve Coogan deliver two short but unforgettable performances, Matthew McConaughey plays Matthew McConaughey and it doesn't bother, we have countless minimal appearances by famous and renowned individuals and there's a little- and brilliant-surprise (at least it surprised me). The film never takes itself seriously, but it's not stupid like, for example, most of the "Scary Movies" and films alike, which also try to mock genre pictures.
Us, as viewers have to be thankful for that. As I said, Stiller doesn't intend to mock a particular genre; his target is the Hollywood industry. I also said he has no mercy, which leaves the fact of being brave or not out of the question. In terms of audience response, he could have been brave; and in a way he is because I'm almost sure that he did his best effort to make the most accessible movie possible.
It's clear that there are references (yes, most of them are very funny) that not every viewer will understand (I personally missed the essence of some) and refer to the actual state of the Hollywood Stiller lives in and knows by heart. But if you don't get any reference, there's a plot that's eventful enough to keep your eyes focused on the screen and jokes that are just pure (innocent or disgusting-but intelligent-, because Stiller doesn't care which one is better) comedy.
People laughed, and the biggest laughs came in those moments of original, crafted comedy that is funny without the need of mocking something. This is a little balance, courtesy of Stiller who knows that any superproduction should be made to be watched by anyone. If you like the approach towards the natural comedy, it means the film works; and it means the same if the references employed, developed (sometimes even detailed) at least make you smile: I liked both ends.
It's difficult to direct a movie like "Tropic Thunder", which involves parodying something that's not as blatant and basic as the male model world. It's even more difficult to succeed in every expectation generated and fulfill every ambition presented. What sometimes is simply impossible is to set a bar; to function as an inflexion point in movie making; in this case with the comedy genreMark my words: it will be long before we experience something like "Tropic Thunder" again.