Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks)
Too Much Inside Humor
Tropic Thunder is a cleverly written, well acted, comic look at making movies for the Hollywood of today. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jack Black throw themselves into their roles of actors caught behind enemy lines so to speak. Some of the humor is hilarious, some of it is offensive, and some of it is just too inside Hollywood. The result is a movie that is sporadically entertaining.
Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, an action actor in the Stallone mode whose career is going nowhere fast. In desperation to show his versatility he makes a film called Simple Jack in which he plays a mentally challenged young man. It does not earn him the acclaim he expected. Now he is playing the lead in a film called Tropic Thunder and he hopes it will be his Platoon.
Co-starring with him is Kirk Lazurus (Downey), a method actor who is so into his role as a black man in Tropic Thunder that he has his skin chemically darkened. He also speaks in what he thinks is hood-ese. His black co-star, Alpa Chino (Brandon T Jackson) is not impressed.
Black plays Jeff Portnoy, an actor who has made his career in comedic roles. He has never been taken seriously so this new war movie is a chance for him to regain some respect.
The three men are taken by helicopter into a jungle and left. They think they are being filmed by hidden cameras but in truth they are being stalked by a criminal element who have a drug trade going on in the jungle. The joke is that the actors think the gang lords are just actors playing roles.
The movie is full of scenes that offend. The depiction of the title character in Simple Jack is the most offensive and the one that has raised the most vocal opposition. Then too Downeys portrayal in blackface wont please many people either.
The strange thing is that Stiller and Black are recognized as two of Hollywoods funniest people but in this film it is Downey who steals the show. He is hilarious in his intensity and if he is aping Russell Crowes more extreme moments then he is doing it in a way that entertains the audience.
Stiller goes from funny to stupid to dull. Sometimes he has a funny bit that starts off amusingly but it goes on too long. He loses the audience and the laughs. There is just not a balance in his role and his acting.
Black seems to be constantly searching for his character. His is definitely the third lead in the film and he doesnt get as much screen time or jokes as the other two. He is overshadowed by Nick Nolte who plays the technical advisor on the film, and Danny McBride who plays Cody, the guy in charge of explosives. They both have funnier scenes than Black.
Much has been made of Tom Cruises cameo as a foul-mouthed movie studio head. It just didnt impress me. He just lets the prosthetics define the character rather than creating one. Plus hollering obscenities does not comedy make. Not when that is all he does. Matthew McConaughey is funnier and more interesting as Stillers agent.
The film is rated R for violence and profanity.
Tropic Thunder is an uneven film that could have been better with some major editing. It seems to amble along in the middle with no goal in sight. Comedies should be fast and constantly funny. This film is slow and sporadically funny.
I scored Tropic Thunder a booming 5 out of 10.
