Downey steals Stiller's "Thunder"

Just when you’re about to turn cynical with the observation that every new film seems to look a lot like some other film, along comes an original gem like Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder which is as rich with laughs as it is with controversy – some say Stiller pokes mean-spirited fun with Simple Jack, though he says it is the actor’s over-the-top performance that is the intended butt of the gag.
     The three stars, Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey, Jr., set out to make a Vietnam-era film – Apocalypse Now meets Full Metal Jacket – but instead, unbeknownst to them, find themselves in the middle of a real jungle conflict.
     Black has an unremarkable role (the highlight of which is the scene where a bat snatches his “jelly beans”) and Stiller is Stiller, a guaranteed guffaw mill. But the real standout is Robert Downey, Jr., as actor’s actor Kirk Lazarus who undergoes a “pigmentation alteration procedure” to make his character real. With back-to-back blockbusters (Ironman just prior to this), Downey has reinvented himself after a well-publicized rocky period, as quite literally, the Lionel Barrymore of our time. If the Academy recognized comedies, which they seldom do, there would be an Oscar® with his name engraved come next February. Just one of his many hysterical lines: “Were you talking to me this whole time?”
     You had to be there.

3 1/2 Honks
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

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Comments

[Freak]

It must be a nightmare for Chris to come up with these tacky "steal his thunder" headlines for film reviews :). I don't always agree with Chris, but he nails this one. As always, you can read this and all my reviews at minnesotamoviefreak.com .

If the Academy of Arts & Sciences (presenters of the Oscar) would recognize comedic talent, Tropic Thunder would be this year's front runner for every male acting award. Tom Cruise would be a lock as Best Supporting Actor and at least two of the three leads of the film (Stiller and Downey Jr.) would be nominated for Best Actor. Ultimately Downey Jr. would win and receive a standing ovation as a reel of his character slurring his speech and spouting obscenities rolls on the screen behind him. As it stands, comedy will continue to be appreciated solely by movie-goers and awards shows will continue to seem patronizing as they ignore the difficulty of making someone laugh.

The writing of this film is brilliant. No character is two dimensional in the film and all seem to be developed just enough to garner interest and not too much to overpower others. Casting is pitch perfect and there is obvious "fun on the set" seen in nearly every shot. There are few holes in the script, instantly forgiven as the sheer spectacle of the creative comedic writing overshadows all. In the Judd Apatow era, it is refreshing to see something come from a writer as talented as Stiller that can reignite the genre. Nailing so many actor stereotypes so beautifully, Tropic Thunder manages to poke fun at the entire film industry, from agents to studio heads to whiny actors.

Tom Cruise (loaded with prosthetics) has the most wonderfully entertaining interpretation of a studio head you might ever see on film, with a booming voice and a super-ego to match. Stiller and Black are reliably amusing in their roles and both have elements of the film where they steal the spotlight deservedly. Along with Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. is nearly unrecognizable through a camouflage of makeup. Downey is hysterical in his role as Kirk Lazarus, the most acclaimed actor on the team who never breaks character.

The film starts out very strong, showcasing movie trailers for all of these actors' upcoming projects and instantly bonding you to the ridiculousness of the film and its satiric take on the industry. I laughed myself to tears during some parts of this film. I know I missed some jokes, but I'm only encouraged to see it again that much more because of it. Everyone in the theater was laughing right along with me, male and female alike.

Some are picketing this film for its slams on the mentally challenged community. Though sometimes the film does stretch out the joke, it is all in good fun and I'm proud of Stiller for having the guts to leave it in. Believable set design and makeup, decent action sequences, entertaining physical humor and fantastic delivery of some of the sharpest lines I've heard since Superbad make Tropic Thunder a fantastic comedy worthy of your money at the multiplex.

Rating - A