![]() And while they have every right to be offended, I view the film as commentary on the practice. It hasn’t hurt the actor’s career although every now and then, somebody will write an article in disbelief of his actions. This sort of method acting is simply unacceptable. It’s not like they’re working with a rubber shark that refuses to cooperate!Īnother problem with the film is that Robert Downey Jr.’s character performs in blackface until very late in the movie. Hardly the behavior you’d expect from the greatest Hollywood directors of all time. Cockburn loses so much control of the actors that he hands them a map and script and leaves them to fend for themselves. Even when studio executive Rob Slolom (Bill Hader) is on set, nothing goes right. One of the things that this film gets right is how easy it is for a director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) to lose control on set. Imagine being the rookie actor going up against five-time Oscar nominee Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.)! It’s an impossible task whether it’s as Kevin Sandusky or Brooklyn but he gets the job done. Jay Baruchel, a solid comic actor in his own right, plays the straight man against all of these actors on camera. Black is one of many comedic actors in the cast. Portnoy and Murphy differ in that Murphy never turned to drugs during his career. Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is drug-addicted actor doing films similar to some of what we’ve seen from Eddie Murphy where he plays all the roles. I understand what they’re doing in terms of satirizing actors going too far in route to an Oscar but in doing so, this film goes too far! Speedman’s career hit a major bump by taking on the role of a mentally handicapped farm boy in Simple Jack. Stiller’s character is a satire of all those summer action blockbuster stars. As such, he takes on the role of John “Four Leaf” Tayback (Nick Nolte) in the film they’re shooting. ![]() ![]() Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is an action star in need of a role to save his career. But again, the musical selections speak to the satire of it all. You can’t go wrong with a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, “Run Through the Jungle.” Buffalo Springfield’s classic, “For What It’s Worth,” also makes an appearance. Even the soundtrack features the typical songs that accompany such films. The action pieces in the film can rival any Vietnam War film in history. There’s two key pieces with the explosion early on and the bridge at the end of the film. Tropic Thunder‘s visual effects are par for the course for action films. Aside from the problems in the film, there are some beautiful set pieces as we journey back to Vietnam in 1969. It is 12 minutes longer than the theatrical release. The cut I viewed is the unrated director’s cut. This is certainly true and you can make a similar argument about cisgender actors playing transgender roles. However, I should note that there is a scene where they point out the actors who played mentally handicapped roles on their way to critical acclaim. I get that they’re going for satire but at the same time, it detracts from the bigger picture. If the film were made today, I want to believe that Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen would not write it in such an offensive matter. The word wasn’t right to use back in 2008 either. A whole sequences in the film features a derogatory slur repeated at a mile a minute. There is language in this film that we don’t use anymore. This year marks the 13th anniversary and while Tropic Thunder may be one of the edgiest satires I’ve ever seen, it certainly hasn’t aged well. Tropic Thunder, the Vietnam War satire directed by Ben Stiller and released in 2008, goes to extremes with all sorts of surprises.
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