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Tropic Thunder
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$14.99
$6.76*
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| Part No: | B001H5X7I4 |
| Manufacturer: | Dreamworks Video |
| MFG Part: | 097363501541 |
| Customer Rating: | 3.5 / 5.0 |
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TROPIC THUNDER (DVD/WS/R-RATED THEATRICAL VERSION)
It's not really a knock to say that nothing in
Tropic Thunder is funnier than its first five minutes, so sly that--especially for people watching in theaters--you don't realize right away they
are the opening minutes of the movie. This outrageous comedy begins with a series of fake previews, each introducing one of the main characters in the film-proper (not that there's anything proper about this film) and each bearing the familiar logo of a different motion picture studio: Universal, DreamWorks SKG, et al. Such playing fast and loose with corporate talismans verges on sacrilege, but it's an index of how much le tout Tinseltown endorses the movie as a demented valentine to itself. The premise is that the cast of a would-be "Son of Rambo" movie shooting in some Southeast Asian jungle get into a real shooting war with drug-smuggling montagnards. Don't ask--though the movie does have an answer--why such highly paid, usually ultra-pampered personnel as superhero Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), Mozart of fart comedy Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), hip-hop artist Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), and five-time Oscar-winner Kirk Lazarus from Aus-try-leeah (Robert Downey Jr.) should be running through the jungle unattended and very vulnerable. It matters only that the real-life cast has a high time kidding their own profession and flexing their comedic muscles. Bonus points go to Stiller for co-writing the script (with Justin Theroux) and directing, and to Downey, brilliant as a white actor surgically turned black actor for his role and utterly committed to staying in character no matter what ("I don't drop character till I done the DVD commentary").
Be warned: The movie, too, is committed--to being an equal-opportunity offender. Its political incorrectness extends not only to Lazarus's black-like-me posturing but also Speedman's recent, Sean Penn-style Oscar bid playing a cognitively challenged farmboy--or, in Lazarus's deathless phrase, "going the full retard." Others in the cast include Steve Coogan as a director out of his depth, Nick Nolte as the Viet-vet novelist whose book inspired the film-within-the-film, Matthew McConaughey as Speedman's sun-blissed agent back home, and Tom Cruise--bald, fat-suited, and profane--as an epically repulsive studio head. Two hours running time is a mite excessive, but otherwise, what's not to like? --Richard T. Jameson
Stills from Tropic Thunder (Click for larger image)
| Diverse responses reflect movie culture | 2010-03-07 | 1 / 5 |
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Greatest movie ever!!
Worst movie ever!!
These responses reflect the cultural and artistic divide we have in the US.(So do the Grammys!) As an "old fart"who loves action movies, I have to say that I made a big mistake in purchasing this incomprehensible piece of trash(Makes Steven Seagal films look like David Lean classics!). That aside, I am a fan of Downey, Nolte etc: and can't see why they would even consent to do this tripe.
Gross. Offensive. Vulgar. Meaningless.
Who gave the "green light" on this project? My God, money must flow like...(you fill in the blank) in La-La Land!
Where can I recycle this DVD?
(Now... where is my copy of Bridge on the River Kwai?)
PS Yes- I KNOW it's suppose to be a parody! But of what??? |
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The movie is hilarious. I highly recommend it to anyone is a fan of any of the actors involved. Ben Stiller is a genius! (The reviewer was compensated for posting this review. However, the opinion stated in the review is that of the reviewer and the reviewer alone. Further, the reviewer independently selected this product to review and has no affiliation with the product maker/distributor, or the review requester.)
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| Silly, rollicking, politically incorrect, good-time entertainment | 2010-02-25 | 4 / 5 |
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No one can beat Ben Stiller at this kind of mock-heroic story. The plot involves around a very contrived situation: a group of actors making a war movie overseas are dropped deep into the jungle, where they will improvise action sequences for hidden cameras. But when the director is accidentally killed, the actors convince themselves its all part of their motivation, even when they run afoul of a village full of ruthless drug producers. Much of the comic tension in the story comes from the actors' failing to realize that they are no longer playing make-believe, but are actually engaged in a real shooting war in the jungle. Stiller's Hollywood enthusiasm is delightfully funny, given how oblivious he is to the realities of their situation, while the others express their doubts in silly bickering. Eventually they are captured, of course, and there's a gallant rescue sequence and a very satisfactory conclusion, despite the absurdity of it all.
And those absurdities are really something. Downey takes on a very challenging role, as a white Australian actor portraying a black man; overplaying the role, actually, and hitting all the stereotypical notes that make his lines incredibly funny even though he (the fictional actor, not Downey) doesn't get it. This dovetails into an overarching theme of "identity" and "being yourself" that has to pass for the moral of the story, but in a work this crazed, who really cares? All of the characters are more funny than convincing, so the story doesn't generate tension as much as a kind of expectancy. So don't go in expecting a lot of deep character study - these guys are all pretty dumb, but they manage to do the right thing in the end.
But to me the funniest part of the film was the dialogue, particularly when the actors discuss various aspects of their business. Downey's analysis of other actors' turns as mentally challenged characters is simply priceless: so politically incorrect that one feels dirty just watching it. Ditto Jack Black's portrayal of a heroine addict. In other hands this material could have been tragic, but Stiller doesn't allow us to take any of it seriously. A silly, rollicking, good-time entertainment, but not recommended for quibblers or the politically sensitive. Four and a half stars. |
| Love this movie! | 2010-02-15 | 5 / 5 |
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| This movie is hilarious! Some parts are unnecessarily inappropriate, so I just skip those scenes. |
| Rent It First | 2010-02-14 | 4 / 5 |
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This is a really good comedy, but you should rent it before buying it. It may not be your cup of tea.
Robert Downey should have received an Academy Award for his role.
Ben Stiller, like in all of his films, is annoying. |
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