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Tropic Thunder is a comedy about the troubles of filmmaking, a mix of spoof and satire. Its total lack of political correctness has caused controversy in the past but frankly the bombardment of laughs had me care less of those who were offended by its contents. Ben Stiller’s directed feature is hilarious and as a comedy, that’s all it needs to be.
On the subject of controversy, the two characters that were the centre of it, Kirk Lazarus and Simple Jack weren’t intended to make fun of their real life versions (Blacks and The Mentally Handicapped). They’re simply used as a way to poke fun at ridiculous method actors and it works to fine effect, I couldn’t help but laugh at the role immersion techniques of Kirk Lazarus (played by Robert Downey Junior). Robert’s character is by far the most outlandish and funny in here, though hotheaded producer Less Grossman (Tom Cruise) and fatties actor Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) do give him a run for his money.
That’s not to say the smaller parts don’t have their moments, roles like the ones played by Nick Nolite, Matthew Mcconaughey, Danny McBride and Bill Hader provide a new side to create fun and boy do they capitalise on it (Four Leaf’s hands, agency and special effects issues and kiss assery). The cinematography goes unmentioned and that’s only normal for a comedy film (when was a comedy ever acclaimed for its visuals?) but the Jungle scenes look very nice (even when its intent is to replicate images from Apocalypse Now and Agurrie, Wrath of God) and the explosions are top-notch, the final scenes are always the biggest and Ben Stiller expresses his inner-Michael Bay with an ending that’s full of excessiveness.
Tropic Thunder is my favorite comedy of all time and its uniquely humorous take on the movie business will continue to quench my funny bone for years to come. A great film, recommended.
Review #20 - Tropic Thunder:
(Ben Stiller, 2008)
(Ben Stiller, 2008)
Tropic Thunder is a comedy about the troubles of filmmaking, a mix of spoof and satire. Its total lack of political correctness has caused controversy in the past but frankly the bombardment of laughs had me care less of those who were offended by its contents. Ben Stiller’s directed feature is hilarious and as a comedy, that’s all it needs to be.
On the subject of controversy, the two characters that were the centre of it, Kirk Lazarus and Simple Jack weren’t intended to make fun of their real life versions (Blacks and The Mentally Handicapped). They’re simply used as a way to poke fun at ridiculous method actors and it works to fine effect, I couldn’t help but laugh at the role immersion techniques of Kirk Lazarus (played by Robert Downey Junior). Robert’s character is by far the most outlandish and funny in here, though hotheaded producer Less Grossman (Tom Cruise) and fatties actor Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) do give him a run for his money.
That’s not to say the smaller parts don’t have their moments, roles like the ones played by Nick Nolite, Matthew Mcconaughey, Danny McBride and Bill Hader provide a new side to create fun and boy do they capitalise on it (Four Leaf’s hands, agency and special effects issues and kiss assery). The cinematography goes unmentioned and that’s only normal for a comedy film (when was a comedy ever acclaimed for its visuals?) but the Jungle scenes look very nice (even when its intent is to replicate images from Apocalypse Now and Agurrie, Wrath of God) and the explosions are top-notch, the final scenes are always the biggest and Ben Stiller expresses his inner-Michael Bay with an ending that’s full of excessiveness.
Tropic Thunder is my favorite comedy of all time and its uniquely humorous take on the movie business will continue to quench my funny bone for years to come. A great film, recommended.