TROPIC THUNDER is one of the craziest most hilarious comedy movies out there. It will make you laugh and then cry from laughing so hard. If you don’t dig silly, over the top scenes, ala SNL sketches, then you would probably find this movie very annoying. This is a comedy with a bang! Explosive and uproarious! Writer/director Ben Stiller and his fellow screenwriter Justin Theroux have made
an awesome finale to the 2008 summer movie season.
The story is simple and ridiculous, but I don’t mind. It centers on a bunch of actors with personal issues who must face actual trained enemies. None of them have careers with good reputations in the eyes of the public and yet they think they’re all that. They make a living out of pretending and in real life the act continues.
This real battle in the jungle will bring out the hero in them; no matter how outrageous the process and outcome will be. To a certain extent, it’s a spoof on Francis Ford Coppola’s classic tale Apocalypse Now. Let’s just say that TROPIC THUNDER makes its own version and blows it up to the third degree with CG, props and pyrotechnics.
It’s a good thing Ben Stiller has so many A-list friends who are willing to appear in this movie; even for a cameo. The cast is people who know comedy by heart. From Jack Black and Steve Coogan to Bill Hader and Matthew McConaughey. The surprise show stopper is Tom Cruise as the bad-tempered, bald, fat producer. Say what you want about the guy, but you would not wanna piss him off. Tom Cruise knows how to cuss up a storm and he looks hella funny when dancing to hip-hop music.
If The Dark Knight has Heath Ledger’s great Joker performance, then TROPIC THUNDER can proudly claim Robert Downey Jr as its champ. His role as the Platoon’s African American sergeant is priceless. You have never seen him like this. His accent and mannerism might be exaggerated a little, but he does not sound like Robert Downey Jr. at all. He’s got the slang down and his looks will forever crack me up. What a talented actor.
This movie is not for those of you who are looking for clever comedy. Nope, this is for those of us who, from time to time, don’t mind comedy that targets audiences with short attention spans. This movie’s humor only works for those of us who just wanna sit back and enjoy some major kickass entertainment. “Mother Nature just pissed her pants suit!”
My Grade for this film is: 4 out of 5
All work and no play makes the Young & Successful feel unbalanced! To rescue our overworked souls, YSN member and movie aficionado Rama Tampubolon discusses the latest hot topics and movie reviews every Thursday on Waste Time Wisely. He runs the movie review and discussion blog, Rama’s Screen, and was featured in “United 300,” which won for “Best Spoof” at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.
