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Tropic Thunder
USA, 2008
[Ben Stiller]
Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan
Comedy / Action
23rd August
2008
Sounding more like a bottle of cheap suntan lotion than a movie, Tropic Thunder is the first movie written and directed by Ben Stiller since 2001�s surprise hit Zoolander. Coming with more pre-release publicity and hype than arguably any other film released so far this year (with the possible exception of The Dark Knight) it was expected to retool Stiller�s career and produce the second huge Downey Jr hit this Summer. Of course, Hollywood�s send-ups of itself usually garner greater praise than they would otherwise deserve, presumably due to the inbred communities desire to show it laughing at itself. It�s a fairly successful formula (excepting An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn) and has produced some bona fide hits.

Stiller�s take on the inside workings of making a movie are, not too surprisingly, somewhat broader than the norm. Along with writing and directing he also plays the lead, Tugg Speedman, an archetypal 80s action star who�s recent foray into more serious acting went very badly wrong (and which serves as delicious fodder throughout the film). Along with the Eddie Murphy-esque Jeff Portnoy (Black) and Australian uber-method actor Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr), they form an acting trio attempting to make the worlds greatest war movie. After cocking up the film so much that after only four days it�s a month behind schedule, frustrated first-time director Damien Cockburn (Coogan) and the man whose story they�re filming, Four Leaf Tayback (Nolte), concoct a plan to put them in the Vietnamese jungle and film them for real. This plan goes quickly and hilariously wrong and it is up to the prima donna actors to band together and save themselves from Burmese drug-runners.

For the most part the movie is pretty meh. The publicity surrounding it was so strong that I had already concocted the plot in my head and as such was a little disappointed whenever it strayed from what I had envisioned (and I�d envisioned something pretty darn awesome). Downey Jr playing a black man throughout, the cameos of famous people, and the trouble the stars get into was outlined so vividly beforehand as to be nothing new when I finally got to see it. Fortunately Stiller had a few aces up his sleeve, including a surprise early death (the ensuing black humour is at its finest), some great supporting characters and arguably the finest cameo from any actor in a comedy. Tom Cruise may be a pillock in real life but the man can act, stealing every scene he�s in as a hardass studio boss. Not to spoil it too much, but the bit where he terrifies a drug kingpin with violent, swear-laden invective over the phone had the entire audience in uproar. He can act.

The film beyond that is a little uneven though. While Downey Jr and Cruise get all the best lines, Stiller and Black especially are starved of good material. Stiller�s Speedman at least has an epiphany, but Black�s junkie Portnoy remains an unfulfilled character throughout. There are also large stretches of the movie where very little happens, comedically or otherwise. Matthew McConaughey�s turn as Speedman�s determined agent is also a little flat till the end, which is strange given how smugly annoying McConaughey normally is. When the film does excel though it is worth the price of admission, just check out Cruise�s dance over the end credits or Danny McBride�s wisecracking Southern pyromaniac. A little more flesh to cover
Tropic Thunder�s bones would have been just as welcome.
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