Review: Tropic Thunder

The story of the filming of a big-budget Vietnam War movie, written by a grizzled and probably deranged bully (Nick Nolte, having a blast in a role possibly inspired by Sam Peckinpah and John Milius), directed by a pompous arse (Steve Coogan), and populated by several actors with seriously inflated egos. Firstly there’s faded action star Ben Stiller, whose schtick is way past tired, and whose recent attempt at serious, Oscar-pandering was as a mentally challenged farm boy named ‘Happy Jack’. Then there’s super-dedicated, Australian method actor Robert Downey Jr., so committed to his role in ‘Tropic Thunder’ that he has undergone pigment alteration in order to play a jive-talking (almost to the point of hilarious, Mr. T-like incomprehensible ‘jibber-jabbering’), Fred Williamson-style black hero. Jack Black plays a drug-addicted, chubby star of a string of awful, flatulence-based comedies, somewhere in between “Porkys” and “The Klumps”. Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel round out the cast, the former as an African-American rapper/actor named Alpa Chino (say it out loud), who is indignant that an African-American character is being played by a fake-arse gangsta, and the latter is essentially a bit player happy to be getting a decent role for a change. At first, creative differences and precious star behaviour are the order of the day. However, things start to go cataclysmically wrong. Director Coogan and the clearly insane Nolte conspire to go into ‘guerrilla-style’ filmmaking methods, and after a pyrotechnical mishap of hilariously violent proportions (thanks to the over-zealous, dumb-arse explosives ‘expert’ Danny McBride, whose technical experience comes into amusing question later on), and a misunderstanding with some real local criminals (led by the pint-sized Brandon Soo Hoo) our group of actors are lost in the jungle with each other’s massive egos, personal failings, and a bunch of people trying to capture/kill them. Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, Stiller’s eager-to-please agent (a somewhat inexplicable, but funny Matthew McConaughey) deals with a monstrous, soulless, utterly ridiculous, fat bastard of a studio exec played by a very famous, usually deadly serious movie star in prosthetics (who shall remain nameless).

Clearly and cheerfully offensive 2008 comedy is a return to form for director/co-writer/star Stiller (whose best film as director previously had been the sorely underrated “The Cable Guy”), a savage satire on Hollywood’s least ingratiating elements. But it is so offensive, that many well-meaning disability/civil rights groups have (in my view, naively and incorrectly) expressed outrage at the supposed bad-taste, apparently intentionally hurtful ‘humour’. This is due to two characters (or three if you include the possibly Jewish nasty studio head, but really, c’mon people...); Stiller’s and Downey’s. The former is meant to be an indictment of the supposed Oscar-pandering tactics in relation to stars playing handicapped characters- Sean Penn in “I am Sam”, Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump”, Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man” etc. I will admit that Stiller’s schtick is a lot less funny to watch than it is to ponder the point being made by it (that is to say, when the idea was first introduced, I was grinning from ear to ear, but simply didn’t find it as funny the longer it went on), but anyone who truly takes offense to this character is clearly missing the intended target; Ego-driven, self-important actors seeking glory at the expense of their very soul. It is not intended to merely poke fun of disabled people. I can understand the discomfort of those who have disabled relatives or friends, who watch this film, I myself am a paraplegic, but one makes a choice whether to see a film or not. The same goes with Downey’s self-absorbed method actor, who is meant to poke fun of the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, and Russell Crowe who suffer for their art by getting inside their character’s skins. Downey’s character takes it to the most hilariously extreme level. This is not the same as the decades of disgusting ‘blackface’ tactics used in many early Hollywood films that were little more than racist caricatures of African-Americans. Downey’s too smart to get involved in something like that, and his character’s drastic and rather moronic behaviour once again is merely meant to make the guy look like a damn fool. It is true that the word ‘retard’ gets used way too much in the film, and yet the very scene in which it is used the most, is probably the best in the whole film. It centres around Downey’s character being somewhat dismayed with Stiller’s past Oscar-baiting work, and also his own, possibly psychologically-scarring method acting techniques. I won’t reveal any more (most other critics have), but suffice to say it’s a gut-bustingly funny, very brave scene, and whilst overused, the ‘r’ word’s usage is at least not in total vain (And hey, if Mel Brooks can make Nazis funny...how can there be any grounds for complaint here, really?).

At any rate, this is really brave stuff, go-for-broke, made-to-offend comedy, and for the most part, it works better than any comedy I’ve seen in quite a while. The opening fake trailers alone are worth the price of admission, with one “Brokeback Mountain”-inspired arty trailer being one of the main highlights of the whole film. Downey and Stiller are given more than able support too, with Black’s downward spiralling drug-addict’s increasing desperation (he quickly starts ‘jonesing’ in the jungle) being the funniest thing Black has done since “High Fidelity”. Others might find his act tiresome, and I would indeed have tired of his constant flatulence jokes if that were his only dimension, but that aspect is thankfully mostly kept to the ‘Fatties 2’ trailer (Stiller, meanwhile makes up for his somewhat uncomfortable ‘Happy Jack’ stuff by hilariously parodying that memorable image from “Platoon”, and a truly surreal encounter with a savage Panda). Nolte, meanwhile, just has to open his mouth and grumble like a demented Sam Elliott in order to have me in stitches, he hasn’t been this funny or warped since...well, that single greatest mug shot of all-time. He, along with McBride and the afore-not-mentioned star cameo, all vie for the scene-stealing position. In the end, Downey probably wins that race (no pun intended- really!), actually, mostly due to the outrageous nature of his character and performance, but you also won’t be able to look at that certain big-time star the same again, after his gut-bustingly funny, showy extended cameo that commands your attention.

Rating: B-