Tropic Power!

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2008)

Tropic Thunder, a Ben Stiller directed effort, opens with what's supposedly a furious skirmish during the Vietnam War. When the carnage was later revealed to be part of a over budget movie production (the film's name happened to be 'Tropic Thunder' too) , the real story kicks off.
The comedy, 'a film within a film' as popularly described, is basically about a group of Hollywood thespians who had found real trouble in the infamous South East Asian region of the Golden Triangle after their director, out of desperation, decided to ditch them in the middle of a jungle crawling with gunmen and drug runners.
Encouraged by the dangerous advice of John 'Four Leaf' Taybacks (Nick Nolte), a Nam veteran whose memoir (yep, named 'Tropic Thunder' too) was what the movie production was based on, rookie director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) rashly plunged his band of prima donna stars into hostile territory, hoping that he can quickly complete shooting in guerrilla style. No sooner, after he declared himself savior however, he met a messy end, leaving the cast on their own to figure out the script. As events will soon reveal, it is going be a highly charged experience beyond their reel moments.
The 'platoon' of Tropic Thunder is a interesting ensemble of Tinseltown stereotypes, considering that TT is a candid take on the ever dynamic world of movie making. There's Ben Stiller as Thugg Speedman, the' highest paid and highest grossing action star ever'..... whose record of box office flop tells otherwise. Robert Downey, Jr's Kirk Lazarus, the most talented of the group, is the multiple Oscar winning type. A method actor in practice, he had taken too seriously his role of a Afro American Sergeant that he had his skin cosmetically altered black and adopted a Jive accent. Jack Black is the dope junkie comedian, Jeff 'Fats' Portnoy, whose capability in inducing laughter seem to rely on the rampart usage of flatulence in his movies.
Apart from this colorful trio of characters, the supporting cast consists of Jay Baruchel as the by-the-book little known actor, Kevin Sandusky, Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino, a rapper who had crossed over to acting and Danny McBride as the trigger happy special effects wizard, Cody Underwood. Look out also for Tom Cruise in his most unusual role as an extremely obnoxious movie executive.
With these unique line up of screwball stereotypes and strange characters, Tropic Thunder is one of the freshest idea of a comedy in recent years. The film had thankfully, not degenerate into cheapening slap-sticks even while it pokes fun at celebrities and Hollywood, with the funnies mainly based on a diet of tabloid news and pop culture. Good, justified humor is something you can expect throughout the movie as the well executed direction and screenplay ensure every few minutes' worth of hilarity.
The strength of Tropic Thunder also lies in its most obvious references and inspirations patterned from a handful of Vietnam War flicks including Full Metal Jacket, Platoon and Apocalypse Now, the latter seemingly the key influence of the movie. These elements are quite useful in the mental exploration of its key characters, particularly Lazarus' apparent identity crisis and Speedman's descent toward his darker side. Overall, it's also a smart excuse for fire fights, explosions and exaggerated action sequences for maximum comedic impact.
Tropic Thunder, in conclusion, is an original, outrageous tribute and parody to the world from which it hailed and the films that made the idea of it possible. Comedies, in the last few years had either been over done spoofs or ridiculous digs on human relations but TT had proved otherwise that the same formulas need not always be the solution for comedy box office gains. At a time of lackluster performance from its genre, it may well stand as a testament that Hollywood do still have something to tickle the world with..... or to be tickled about.