Tropic Thunder

Official Site: www.tropicthunder.com
Rated: R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material

Swanner: When you have a comedy with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan and Tom Cruise how could you possibly go wrong…Brian?

Judd: Oh, I don’t know. It could be ruined by sloppy, lazy writing that relies on profane one-note jokes that aren’t that funny but are repeated until you laugh—I call that the “Leno Method”. In addition to the fact, Stiller and Black are normally reasons I avoid a movie. Robert Downey Jr. was the only actor in the movie worth watching as he plays a white Australian actor (think Russell Crowe) who undergoes a skin pigment augmentation to play a Black soldier in the movie within the movie.

Swanner: I’m not a big fan of Ben Stiller as an actor or as a director (he is both here). Acting wise its like watching all the most irritating scenes from his movies and bringing them back as if they were golden. As a director I have to fault him because he should have replaced himself with a better actor. As for the rest of the cast, I liked them. I’m a fan of Jack Black (especially when he’s in bikini briefs for long extended scenes) and I think Robert Downey Jr. makes any movie he’s in better by him being in it. By the way, the plot of the movie follows a group of spoiled actors being dropped in the Vietnamese jungle to find their motivation for a Vietnam war picture they are starring in. Once left in the jungle they are pursued by drug smugglers but the actor think they are being perused by movie Vietcong

Judd: There is a subplot with Matthew McConaughey as Stiller’s agent back in Hollywood and Tom Cruise in a fat suit as a blow hard movie exec. McConaughey is forgettable and Cruise is funny-ish, I guess. As I said, for me the writing was completely sub-par. The movie aims to offend everyone, but it does it in ways that we’ve seen before. There was only one moment where I thought the writing was creative and actually funny. Of course this is also the scene that is causing quite a bit of controversy among advocates for the learning disabled. I was going to say that much like Stiller, the screenwriters think they’re funnier than they are. Guess who wrote it.

Swanner: I thought the script wasn’t the best but that still may have to do with the fact Stiller’s delivery sucks. The rest of the dialog is good. The story is a bit obvious but enjoyable with the Hollywood scenes are inserted. Tom Cruise was actually very funny but I was surprised by the language in the movie, most of the hard R dialog comes from him. There has been a lot of controversy over making fun of the retarded and the fact the Downey Jr. in Black face. If you actually watch the movie you’ll see that the movie makes the point that actors will change their pigment or play the disable only to win Oscars.

Judd: I just want to mention that there was another screenwriter involved name Etan Cohen who wrote an 11 minute short titled, “My Wife Is Retarded”. I want to throw that out there because I don’t want anyone to think Stiller could be funny enough to pen the “Full Retard” monologue. Maybe I didn’t like it because I’m not easily shocked. Black face in this context didn’t shock me. Tom Cruise dropping a string of F Bombs isn’t shocking. Stiller playacting “full retard” wasn’t shocking. Tropic Thunder is the equivalent of a three year old yelling “Poop!” in room full of adults. The toddler is delighted by the offense while the adults shoo him back into the playroom. Someone should have shooed Stiller back into the playroom.

Swanner: 2 Stars
Judd: 1 Star