A terrific Hollywood spoof and blend of comedic styles

Rating: 8/10 (14 August 2008)

We've seen plenty of Ben Stiller comedies, we are very familiar with Jack Black's sense of humor and if you've watched a fair share of movies (including "Iron Man"), you know how good Robert Downey Jr. can be, but never before have you seen them like this, teaming up to create summer 2008's best comedy. "Tropic Thunder" is not a violent action comedy like it lets off--instead the gun is aimed at Hollywood, taking shots at actors, writers, producers, the whole lot as they try and make a Vietnam War film. It's not the most laugh-out-loud funny comedy in recent years, but its combination of great and diverse talent playing a variety of amusing characters and clever Hollywood-spoofing jokes makes it a unique brand that is familiar but fresh.
"Tropic Thunder" is a new war film based on a book written by a war vet played by Nick Nolte. The film brings together action star on the decline Tugg Speedman (Stiller), drug- addict comedian Jeff Portnoy (Black) and over-dedicated several-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.) who has undergone surgery to become black for the film. The film brilliantly starts with three trailers from their previous work, the funniest being "Satan's Alley" starring Lazarus and Toby Maguire as gay monks.
With cast and crew unable to gel on set and receiving terrible publicity with the threat of being shut down, their director (Steve Coogan) agrees to send the actors into the actual Vietnamese jungle and film them guerrilla style. Only it all goes wrong and it quickly isn't a movie anymore.
Directed by Stiller himself and written by him and lesser known actor Justin Theroux, there is definitely a sense that the film centers around Stiller's character and his style, but this is definitely all about the coming together of Black, Stiller and Downey Jr. along with some familiar but smaller names from Apatow Productions like Jay Baruchel of "Knocked Up" and Danny McBride from "Pineapple Express." Britain's Steve Coogan is transitioning nicely to America as the film's aggravated director and Tom Cruise takes a bold risk as the film's self- centered, foul-mouthed producer.
Downey Jr. steals the show. He's playing an Australian who is playing a black man and stays in character at all times--it's ridiculous. You believe it so easily. His style really freshens up what could have become just another Stiller movie. Cruise, while not hysterical, really leaves you asking if that's him the entire time, because he really transforms for the role and not just in being bald and fat. The performance definitely gets props.
It's the spoofing that really does it, though. While viewers may see red flags with the warnings about insensitivity toward people with mental disabilities and with Downey Jr. in blackface, you can pretty clearly tell why and it's not to make fun of either group. All the main characters basically make fun of actors with their descriptions: Stiller is like a dumb Tom Cruise, Black is a drug-addicted Eddie Murphy type, Downey Jr. is a pretty clear shot at Russell Crowe, etc. The plot is loaded with more cracks as well as some other clever humor and jokes. The film is also not bad as an action film with plenty of explosions.
There might be some jokes that don't work, but there's lot of different jokes in this movie because of the variety of comedians in it, so if something misses you're sure not to see the same type of jokes following it up. The general tone, however, is crude humor and that's where the R rating comes in. There is also a decided lack of female actors in this film, which gears it pretty much for guys only. This is a fun movie though and is sure to lead to more Hollywood-spoofing films in the future should it pull at the box office.