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Tropic Thunder (2008)

Director: Ben Stiller

Time Out rating

Average user rating

48 reviews

Synopsis

Five actors sign up for a war movie, only to find themselves fighting in an actual battle. Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., and with controversial cameos from Tom Cruise and Owen Wilson.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Don’t be late for ‘Tropic Thunder’, or you’ll miss the second-best bit: the spoof trailers for ‘Scorcher VI’ starring action hero Tugg Speedman, ‘The Fatties 2’ starring gross-out favourite Jeff Portnoy and ‘Satan’s Alley’ starring Oscar-laden thesp Kirk Lazarus. Speedman, Portnoy and Lazarus – played by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr respectively – are the leads in a bombastic Vietnam epic shooting on location in the Golden Triangle. The flailing Brit director (Steve Coogan) sets them loose in the jungle, intending to film their method-fuelled progress on hidden cameras, but they end up facing genuine combat together. Cue machine-guns all round, and then hugs.

The makers of ‘Tropic Thunder’ knew they had a challenge on their hands with the character of Lazarus, who is surgically blacked up to play an African-American soldier, meaning that Downey is too. They did a good job of defusing the issue in the US – they’re parodying Hollywood narcissism, not the black experience, for heaven’s sake! – and were enormously helped by Downey’s terrific, compulsive performance. Equal parts brash, bonkers and perplexed, he’s the film’s best bit. (The mental-health lobby was less than impressed by his bravura monologue about the perils of actors going ‘full retard’ in pursuit of Oscar glory, but that’s another story.)

Certainly, the film works much better as Tinseltown parody than as action flick or character drama; on those terms, which co-writer and director Stiller seems to have taken seriously, it’s pretty ordinary stuff. But its better moments of self-referential snark, such as an ace cameo from Tom Cruise as an obnoxious studio exec, have the feel of a superior end-of-term revue.

Author: Ben Walters 2008-09-16 10:08:45

Time Out London Issue 1987, 17-23 Sept, 2008

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User reviews of this film

rach said...

Posted on Sep 21 2008 11:49 This film is a real let down. It starts off well; leaving you feeling like your in for a real treat! But then gets progressively worse as the film goes on and after 30minutes of sitting there you start to wonder why you bother watching this film and didnt go for pinapple express instead.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Sep 21 2008 11:12 the movie started really well and then nosedived after 20 minutes ,as the actors got lost in the forest so did the script .ben stiller is confused as director as to whether he is making a spoof or a serious take on hollywood's pampered stars or production problems and takes his theme into some very monotonous grounds like the stereotypes of vietcong fighters and the parody of platoon and glory ,also downey and stiller overact like everyone in scenes which require them to be downbeat but for most part it is a very loud movie with almost everyone shouting and explosions all around ,the worst was nick nolte and black jack who are disgraceful .the best bits were the trailers in the beginning which are hilarious and then it is rather mediocre with a very predictable premise ,matthew mcconaughey and tom cruise also seem to be forced into the script to show the hollywood stereotypes but there is nothing new about this spoof on hollywood -it has been done to bits before and half of hollywood turns up here in empty thunder with jokes about race ,stardom and piss .i am sure the stars had a better time making this movie then i had watching it -as it was rather dull most of the times .

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sam said...

Posted on Sep 19 2008 21:42 goin to see this tommorow looks hilarious

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