I’m not sure exactly how long ago I watched the trailer for Tropic Thunder, but I remember thinking it was a film with a lot going for it. Not only did it have a stellar cast–Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black–but the trailer was actually hilarious. I wasn’t going to base all my hopes on the trailer, however; I haven’t cared a whole lot of Stiller’s last few films, and I feel that Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. are usually hit (and often bulls eye: Black in 1999’s Jesus’ Son, and Downey Jr., in this year’s Iron Man), but occasionally huge miss (Black in 2006’s Nacho Libre and Downey Jr. in 2003’s The Singing Detective). To sum up my feelings as I walked into the theatre, Tropic Thunder stood poised on the brink of greatness.

The film actually began in a similar manner to Tarantino and Rodriguez’s 2007 Grindhouse, opening with hilarious pseudo-trailers, before blasting into the film with all of its fury. It became almost immediately apparent that all of the footage that composed the trailer came from the first fifteen or so minutes of the film. This gave me quite a bit of hope; not only did it mean that I loved the first fifteen minutes (even more than I had loved the trailer), but it also meant that, unless the film went into a deathly horrible plunge in the sixteenth minute, the trailer had not contained every hilarious moment of the film (a danger in Hollywood’s films these days).

I went into the film relatively ignorant, knowing little besides the trailer and the three headliners, and was delighted to discover Matthew McConaughey, and not-so-delighted to discover Tom Cruise (more on this later). Another gem was the cameo of Tobey Maguire (very) early on the film.

For those who may be going into the film even more ignorantly than I did, the gist of the film is this: A movie is being filmed about a band of men in the Vietnam War, but none of the actors are taking any of it seriously. The wealthy man financing the film, Les Grossman (Cruise), is pretty much fed up, and the rookie director of the film, Damien (Steve Coogan), has no idea to pull his actors in line (Stiller as Speedman; Downey, Jr., as Kirk Lazarus; Black as Jeff ‘Fats’ Portnoy; Jay Baruchel as Kevin Sandusky; Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino). Each one is a very different character: Speedman is a tough, action movie star who has seen better days; Lazarus is an art film actor, who undergoes a “controversial procedure” to play a black man in the film; Portnoy is, too be honest, an actor that has the reputation of making movies like Eddy Murphy’s family films where he plays the whole family; Sandusky is a scrawny white boy, the only one of which has apparently gone to boot camp (and a virgin); and Chino is the black guy who accepted the role so that there would be a real black man in the film in which a white man took the black role. I’m sure you’ll have to read that a few times; it comes across much more easily in the film than in a single, written paragraph.

In any case, Damien is at his wit’s end with how to handle his actors to get the film done, and Grossman is threatening to cut funding. Meanwhile, Speedman’s agent, McConaughey (IMDB has no listed name for his character), decides to have them dropped in the jungle, and to have the film shot guerilla-style. As you can imagine, nothing goes according to plan.

The film comes close to stepping on toes (some sensitive toes may get hurt), but overall, it manages to avoid crossing any lines that would alienate itself from the Black audience, even given the horrible and degrading history of blackface in American history. While Downey Jr. plays a very entertaining character, he toes the line well, and, at the end of the day, Chino is there to call him out when needed. By writing an outspoken black character into the film to offset Lazarus, Tropic Thunder avoids becoming insulting, and instead becomes a satire of the portrayal of blacks in media. This might be the only “message” of the film.

All five main characters play their roles fabulously, and instead of becoming overdone or trite, the jokes continue, perfectly timed and flawlessly given—and they stay fresh, and continue to add to the film. McConaughey plays a perfect obsessive agent: Speedman’s contract calls for TiVo, and by God! McConaughey is going to make sure he gets it. Cruise’s portrayal of Grossman is equally hilarious: a grating, money-grubbing millionaire who knows just how well off he is—and dances to rap.

As the five men move through the jungle, the film continues on its perfect trajectory, coming together at the end of the jungle for a perfect conclusion. It expertly pokes fun of Hollywood, the entertainment business, war movies, life… all beautifully and successfully. Tropic Thunder is without a doubt the funniest film I’ve seen in the theatre in years. As the credits began to roll, I saw what may have been the most important contribution to the film’s genius: Ethan Cohen was one of the writers. Oooh, everything makes sense now.

I only hope that, when you see it, you laugh half as hard as I did.

One Response to “Tropic Thunder”

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