DVD: Tropic Thunder

A Rumble in the Jungle

It's not every day you get a star actor in blackface, a mainstream graphic violence and profuse swearing, and a good Jack Black performance all in a Hollywood satire film comedy. Tropic Thunder is directed by Ben Stiller, and it's far more intense and inappropriate that Zoolander, but it's also funnier and more meaningful in so many ways.

The film starts off without introduction with a series of trailers that introduce the main characters through their fictional Hollywood context. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the multiple Oscar-winning Australian master actor, Ben Stiller is the blockbuster action movie star, Jack Black is the wacky comedian, and the lesser-known Brandon T. Jackson is Alpa Chino, the rapper-turned-actor. After the intro-that's-not-quite-an-intro, the film begins in earnest.

I'll spare you the synopsis since you have more than likely seen the trailer, and that's about as far as I'll go in revealing the plot of the movie anyway.

The performances are all great. My personal favorite, however, was definitely Downey, Jr. He has the strongest and therefore most memorable character, as well as some of the most memorable lines (I've been repeating the "You never go full retard" speech all week). The film's other characters, however, have some rather memorable lines as well.

Even the bit parts have some glow to them. From Nick Nolte as "Fourleaf," the Vietnam vet, to Tom Cruise as the ruthless producer, almost every scene of the films has something memorable in it. The result is likely to last as a frequently rented and oft-quoted film, especially amongst high school and college students, much the way Zoolander is. However, I believe Tropic Thunder will be a bit more enduring. I don't think it quite has the power to make it into the upper echelon of quotable and constantly re-watchable comedies like Tommy Boy or Old School, but it's almost there. If Ben Stiller makes another movie that is as much better than Tropic Thunder as Tropic Thunder was compared to Zoolander, then we will almost surely have a classic on our hands.

This movie had a lot of hype around it, and that usually makes me particularly skeptical and judgmental about a movie, but this film is funny enough that it proved most of the yea-sayers correct. Like I said, it's not perfect, but it is a well-crafted, well-performed comedy with a brilliant self-effacing attitude towards Hollywood. It's nearly scathing, and it's certainly true and relevant. Many pieces of the film even feel like insider information, messages from within the industry camp about how the industry operates. Obviously it is frequently exaggerated, but if you watch closely enough, the underlying truth beneath certain extreme scenes is apparent.

Only time will tell if Tropic Thunder is canonized in the pantheon of Hollywood comedies, but it is certainly worth the five bucks it costs for a rental. I know I'll see it again, hopefully soon.

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Special Features:

• Commentary with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.
• "Blowing Shit Up" featurette
• "The Hot LZ" featurette
• 7 "Cast of Tropic Thunder" featurettes
• A make-up test with Tom Cruise
• Full Mags
• MTV Movie Awards - Tropic Thunder
• Rain of Madness trailer
• DreamWorks Public Service Announcement