Oh, what a lovely war movie Ben Stiller and his platoon have concocted in
Tropic Thunder. Stiller – who stars, directs, co-writes, co-produces and probably acts as animal wrangler as well – imagines a lost patrol of self-absorbed yet terminally insecure actors working on a war movie in Asia, only to wind up in real-life combat with narco-terrorists.
Tropic Thunder sends up all things Hollywood, from pampered actors and outrageous tycoons to war movies in general. OK, these are easy targets. But Stiller and co-writers Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen hit 'em with a fair degree of accuracy.
After a summer devoted to superheroes – Stiller's co-stars Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black played such roles in
Iron Man and
Kung Fu Panda – how gratifying it is to experience a movie taking the mickey out of super-impossible heroics.
A savvy opening has three movie trailers and a concession ad cleverly establishing our leading actors: Stiller's Tugg Speedman is a fading action star whose last desperate bid for Oscar glory had him playing Simple Jack, a retarded farmhand who talks to animals. Black's coked-up Jeff Portnoy stars in a series of gross-out films built around toilet jokes. Downey's five-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus – think early Robert De Niro, Laurence Olivier and Gwyneth Paltrow – is so into the "method" and physical disguise that he has surgically darkened his skin to play a black man. Actor-comedian Brandon T Jackson is rap star Alpa Chino – say it slowly.
In the name of authenticity, the film's British director (Steve Coogan) helicopters this gang along with newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), shell-shocked technical adviser (Nick Nolte) and eager explosives expert (Danny McBride) into the jungle. The director then steps on a land mine, which leaves the troupe without direction.
This setup offers a broad comic canvas for explosions; stunts; battles between actors firing blanks and a drug gang that's not; wars back home between the film's financier and Tugg's agent (Matthew McConaughey); and a drug lord played by 12-year-old newcomer Brandon Soo Hoo.
The film almost gets hijacked by Downey who no longer recognises his own identity. It's a great comic performance and reaches its satiric zenith when, as the two stroll blithely unaware through a dangerous jungle, Kirk critiques Tugg's performance as Simple Jack.
Kirk points out that actors who have won Oscars playing the mentally challenged "never go full retard", a hysterically funny and accurate piece of criticism. (Kudos to the writers as well.)
But Stiller manages his movie nicely so that all actors get their share of the comic spotlight. Oh, by the way, Tom Cruise has a role, too. But he is in such a good disguise that few will recognise him until the credits.
The numbers$90m: The total production budget for
Tropic Thunder, as reported in
The New York Times4 films: The number of full-length feature films that have been directed by Ben Stiller, including
Reality Bites,
The Cable Guy,
Zoolander and now,
Tropic Thunder
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