Without doubt this summer has been a bit of a disappointment for me. I felt that there were four "Can't Miss" films this season: The Dark Night, Pineapple Express, Transsiberian, and Tropic Thunder. The Dark Knight exceeded expecation. Transsiberian was a borderline masterpiece. Pineapple Express is overrated and not nearly funny enough. And last but not least, Tropic Thunder, which had the luxury of having the funniest trailer I've seen in years. But was the film nearly as hilarious? Yes and no...
Directed by Ben Stiller himself, Tropic Thunder is the story of a war film gone horribly wrong. The film is helmed by a first-time director(the hilarious Steve Coogan), and it's gone massively overbudget. The film stars Dolph Lungren-esque action hero Tugg speedman(Ben Stiller); fart joke comedian and drug addict Jeff Portnoy(Jack Black); and arthouse favorite Kirk Lazarus(Robert Downey, Jr.). The clashing of egos by these whiny stars, combined with the less than talented director, has sent the production over the cliff.
Enter the REAL star of this movie, Les Grossman, played by the suprisingly funny Tom Cruise. Cruise's Grossman is fat, vulgar, greedy, and stereotypically evil and it's absolutely brilliant. Cruise hasn't been this entertaining since another eye-opening performance playing against type in Magnolia. Grossman, the producer on the film decides that something must be done to get these whiny babies back on track, so with some help from the film's writer, war veteran Four Leaf Tayback(Nick Nolte), they decide the only way is to throw the boys "in the shit" for real.
Most of the press on this film has revolved around Downey's performance as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian dramatic actor who undergoes a skin darkening procedure to play the African-American sergeant. The procedure has him looking somewhat more passable than C. Thomas Howell's Soul Man. He actually looks like a slightly less nourished version of Fred Sanford's son. It's a role that could have been a disaster on an epic scale. Played too much for laughs, and it could very well have alienated African-Americans to the point of riot, but Downey plays it mostly straight. It's absurd to be sure, but given just enough depth so as not to offend but make you really wonder how a guy could agree to such a thing. What's funny is that it's not completely out of the realm of possibility with today's actors going so overboard in transforming themselves to play potentially career changing roles.
In fact this film takes great pleasure in parodying Hollywood in one way or another. Portnoy is famous for his low brow comedy, The Fattys, which spoofs Eddie Murphy and his awful Nutty Professor films. Lazarus just recently did a film on two gay priests(co-starring Tobey Maguire looking more...metro...than he usually does) ala Brokeback Mountain. The back and forth ogling between Maguire and Downey will have you either covering your face in laughter or in disgust. Speedman gets the long since played out joke about an action franchise with a dozen sequels.
And there in lies my major beef with this film: Ben Stiller. His Tugg Speedman is so over-the-top in every conceivable way that he sticks out like a roach on a cloud. Stiller has never been a favorite of mine for this very reason. It's like he simply can't dial it down even when appropriate. Speedman's entire storyarc in this film goes too far to fit with the tone of the story. While his buddies are dealing with idenity issues and drug addiction, Speedman is fighting 5 year old terrorist children and having his memory erased. Every scene with him(except for one near the end and I give that credit to the flying baby) simply doesn't work. I realize he co-wrote and directed this film. Maybe it would have been better served if he had stuck to that. The writing is strong and often very very funny. I still find it hard to believe that it was co-written by Justin Theroux, who some might remember for his role in Mulholland Drive or as the Irish bad guy in the Charlie's Angels sequel.
Tropic Thunder is truly an odd bird of a film. With a cast list like this, you'd expect one of the headliners to steal the show and run with it. Downey does that for the most part, but if I had to pinpoint the true star of the movie for me it'd be Jay Baruchel. He plays Kevin Sandusky, the most grounded of the actors on set. He basically plays the straight man, and the looks on his face at some of the warped and deluded things his fellow actors say are priceless. You can tell he's wondering "Is this how I'm going to end up"? It's the most subdued and understated role, and Baruchel hits it out of the park. Not to be forgotten, I've got to give a nod to Brandon T. Jackson, who plays the one real African-American actor on set. His verbal sparring with Lazarus spark some of the funniest moments. This movie truly was stolen away by the least likely of actors.
Despite my negative comments, Tropic Thunder is definitely a must-see film and one of the funniest of the year. I'm genuinely interested in seeing more work from Stiller behind the camera now. Especially if it means less of him in front of it.
7/10
