Tropic Thunder
September 7th 2008 13:54
ANY movie starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr is bound to be at least interesting, and Tropic Thunder doesn’t disappoint.
Stiller is washed-up action hero Tugg Speedman; Black is low-rent comedian Jeff Portnoy; and Downey Jr is Australian five-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus. They come together – along with a rapper named Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and a young character actor (Jay Baruchel) – to film a big-budget war epic based on the Vietnam War memoirs of hook-handed John ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback (Nick Nolte).
Due to some ‘creative differences’, it’s not going well and ruthless Hollywood producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise, but not as you know him) demands results. Consequently, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), the movie’s director, cooks up a plan with Tayback to drop his difficult stars in the middle of the jungle, hoping some genuine fear and uncertainty will inspire their performances.
Naturally, everything that can go wrong does, and the actors find themselves fighting a very real enemy in a heroin-producing gang.
Sure, it’s totally ridiculous, but it’s also bloody funny. Downey Jr – in controversial black face – is a standout and the supporting cast is fantastic. It’s also made just as well as any other blockbuster action flick.
Stiller is washed-up action hero Tugg Speedman; Black is low-rent comedian Jeff Portnoy; and Downey Jr is Australian five-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus. They come together – along with a rapper named Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and a young character actor (Jay Baruchel) – to film a big-budget war epic based on the Vietnam War memoirs of hook-handed John ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback (Nick Nolte).
Due to some ‘creative differences’, it’s not going well and ruthless Hollywood producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise, but not as you know him) demands results. Consequently, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), the movie’s director, cooks up a plan with Tayback to drop his difficult stars in the middle of the jungle, hoping some genuine fear and uncertainty will inspire their performances.
Naturally, everything that can go wrong does, and the actors find themselves fighting a very real enemy in a heroin-producing gang.
Sure, it’s totally ridiculous, but it’s also bloody funny. Downey Jr – in controversial black face – is a standout and the supporting cast is fantastic. It’s also made just as well as any other blockbuster action flick.
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