 | |
List Price: $34.98 | | Label: Dreamworks Video
Salesrank: 258
Released: November 18, 2008 |
| Our Price: $17.98 |
| Used Price: $15.20 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 11/18/2008 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Ur
Description of Tropic Thunder (Unrated Director's Cut):
It's not really a knock to say that nothing in Tropic Thunder is funnier than its first five minutes, so sly that--especially for people watching in theaters--you don't realize right away they are the opening minutes of the movie. This outrageous comedy begins with a series of fake previews, each introducing one of the main characters in the film-proper (not that there's anything proper about this film) and each bearing the familiar logo of a different motion picture studio: Universal, DreamWorks SKG, et al. Such playing fast and loose with corporate talismans verges on sacrilege, but it's an index of how much le tout Tinseltown endorses the movie as a demented valentine to itself. The premise is that the cast of a would-be "Son of Rambo" movie shooting in some Southeast Asian jungle get into a real shooting war with drug-smuggling montagnards. Don't ask--though the movie does have an answer--why such highly paid, usually ultra-pampered personnel as superhero Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), Mozart of fart comedy Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), hip-hop artist Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), and five-time Oscar-winner Kirk Lazarus from Aus-try-leeah (Robert Downey Jr.) should be running through the jungle unattended and very vulnerable. It matters only that the real-life cast has a high time kidding their own profession and flexing their comedic muscles. Bonus points go to Stiller for co-writing the script (with Justin Theroux) and directing, and to Downey, brilliant as a white actor surgically turned black actor for his role and utterly committed to staying in character no matter what ("I don't drop character till I done the DVD commentary").
Be warned: The movie, too, is committed--to being an equal-opportunity offender. Its political incorrectness extends not only to Lazarus's black-like-me posturing but also Speedman's recent, Sean Penn–style Oscar bid playing a cognitively challenged farmboy--or, in Lazarus's deathless phrase, "going the full retard." Others in the cast include Steve Coogan as a director out of his depth, Nick Nolte as the Viet-vet novelist whose book inspired the film-within-the-film, Matthew McConaughey as Speedman's sun-blissed agent back home, and Tom Cruise--bald, fat-suited, and profane--as an epically repulsive studio head. Two hours running time is a mite excessive, but otherwise, what's not to like? --Richard T. Jameson
Stills from Tropic Thunder (Click for larger image)
Tropic Thunder (Unrated Director's Cut) Reviews:
Don't Be Fooled -- Tropic Thunder Isn't Funny 
2008-12-03 - "Tropic Thunder," the movie critics darling from the summer of 2008, suffers from the massive sin of being slightly amusing and painfully disappointing (once you've seen the trailer there's no reason to see the rest).
Critics drooled all over it because Director Ben Stiller skewers Hollywood insiders and there's nothing that movie critics fawn over more than a movie that savages directors, actors, agents, and filmmaking (because they all secretly hate the business). Besides, the critics can actually understand the in-jokes.
The movie was a huge marketing success - web sites, viral videos, and a massive push by "insiders." It raked in more than $110 million to qualify for blockbuster status. The hype was that "Tropic Thunder" was raw and controversial (mental health advocates gave the film an enormous boost when they protested against the depiction of mentally-handicapped people in the film).
Unfortunately, "Tropic Thunder" is an overhyped dud done in by a lame plot, variety show quality gags, and the seriously defective acting of one Ben Stiller. And the supposedly no-holds barred gags? Saturday Night Live is more controversial.
Here's the concept: a group of self-absorbed A-list actors are filming a Vietnam movie. Losing control of the movie, the director decides to take his pampered actors into jungle for some guerilla filming. A landmine kills the director and the actors - left on their own - are attacked by real drug-dealing rebels (and think the action is part of the script).
Bored yet?
The plot, of course, only works if the characters are idiots - which they are.
Stiller has the acting range of a turnip. Like his character in "Zoolander," who uses the same pursed-lip expression in all of his photo shoots, Stiller plays the same character over and over and over again. He's the Groundhog Day of actors.
This time Stiller plays washed up action star Tugg Speedman (a cross between Rambo and Tom Cruise). He's hopelessly insecure and utters dialog like: "Somebody said they were close to me?" And, of course, he pouts like only Stiller can pout.
Every time Stiller is on screen is a grating experience. You want to scream: "Stop the madness!" at the top of your lungs.
Robert Downey Jr. fairs better as the Oscar winning method actor Kirk Lazarus. Lazarus has a skin pigmentation process so he can play a black sergeant - and is completely in-character throughout the film. Unfortunately, the role limits Downey's maniac comedic skills - and he ends up being a one-trick pony. The gag is funny - for about five minutes.
Then there is Jack Black, who is completely wasted as the drug-addicted "fat" comedian. The role is a cliché wrapped in a stereotype and delivered as a typecast. He actually bites a bat in half because it "stole" his drugs and is thrown half-naked over a water buffalo. Cheap gimmickry at its finest.
But the real problem with "Tropic Thunder" is the stupidity of the plot. Nothing makes sense. Once the actors get in the jungle, the film plays like a series of skits cobbled together with duct tape. It's hard to watch without that sinking feeling in your belly that you have been duped.
The real pain here? "TopicLink Thunder" was so successful that it will probably spawn a sequel.
"Stop the madness!"
Wierd/Funny 
2008-12-03 - Not your regular spoof. Yet parts of it will make you bust out laughing and other parts..uhh?. It has its viewers.
Tropic Blunder
2008-12-02 - We expected the best from a movie with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr starring in it. We love Ben Stiller movies and we love movies with Jack Black - until this one. When I read the reviews, I was sure this was a winner of a comedy. From the head spurting blood to the head on the end of Ben Stiller's bayonet, we did not find one laugh. There were a number of times that I had to turn away from the movie, retching. When Ben Stiller tasted the goo from the head to prove it was sugar water, we turned the DVD off. This movie is NOT for squeamish folks. If anyone has the time, I would love someone tell me what parts are funny. Ben and Jack, shame on you for mistaking gore for humor.
It Imprinted On Me Against My Will! 
2008-12-02 - I'm not an aficionado of war movies, but I'm familiar enough with them to know the elements that were once groundbreaking but are now cliche (several scenes in this movie remind me of Platoon in particular). I went into this expecting a lame spoof movie, but instead I saw one of the best comedies that has come a long for a very long time. If you're tired of the drivel from the "Not Another Teen Movie/Meet the Spartans" bunch, don't worry-- this is NOTHING like that! It's actually FUNNY, SMART and ENTERTAINING. (That shouldn't be so much to ask, but it seems to be!)
The premise is very much like Galaxy Quest, another film where actors are thrust into a real-life situation and must get themselves out. There is a lot more poking fun at Hollywood stereotypes, and in a couple of places the movie may have gone too far. However, there's nothing mean-spirited about any of it. The gory scenes are fake and funny. The trailers border on the ridiculous, but tell a certain truth about movies, and probably about ourselves as well.
So many standout actors in this movie, and so little review space! I am no fan of Tom Cruise-- it's nothing personal; I've just never liked anything he's done... but I LOVED his performance as Les Grossman! At times I forgot Robert Downey Jr. wasn't black. Danny McBride, the explosive-loving stunt coordinator, and Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino are HILARIOUS, and I hope we see more of them in the future. Matthew McConaughey surprised me for a second time... whatever you think of Reign of Fire, he surprised me in that one as he did in this one.
I like to get the extended edition DVDs, but I rarely watch the extras. I will say that the deleted scenes included on disc two were deleted for a reason; deleted scenes usually are. I got this for the extended, unrated cut, which is the only way to watch it. If you enjoy the extras, consider it a bonus. I didn't want to like this movie, but I did. Do yourself a favor and watch it-- it's TOTALLY WORTH IT.
Laugh Out Loud Hilarious! (A- Grade) 
2008-12-01 - Tropic Thunder is one of the best movies of 2008 that I had a ball watching. There are some of Hollywood's best actors in Tropic Thunder to include Robert Downey Jr., who is nearly unrecognizable as Australian actor, Kirk Lazarus, playing African American, Sgt. Osiris, where he has dyed his skin dark and doesn't break away from the character throughout the whole movie. Everyone has talked about Heath Ledger's incredible and mind blowing role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, but Robert Downey Jr. also deserves a lot of praise, and a possible Oscar award nomination for best acting in this role. Surprisingly, Tom Cruise steps out of his comfort zone playing a fat, balding, cursing, movie studio executive, Les Grossman, who steals every scene he is in. Also along for this crazy ride is Jack Black, a drug addicted comedy actor, and Matthew McConaughey, who plays Ben Stiller's agent, and is extremely funny as he is gorgeous. I usually find Ben Stiller a bit annoying in his roles, but here he perfectly embodies the role he is playing, Tugg Speedman, a washed up action star.
Tropic Thunder is about making a movie based on the Vietnam War. The director, Steve Coogan is fed up with his whiny, egotistical actors, and with the help of Nick Nolte, who plays the Vietnam vet the movie is based on, drop the actors in the middle of the jungle to fend for themselves. That is where the fun really begins. Jack Black runs out of heroin, or jelly beans as he calls them, and starts going through detox. Plus, the actors find themselves in the territory of a heroin-producing Vietcong gang, but don't think any of that is real because they still think they are filming the movie.
There are not many comedies like Tropic Thunder that can make me laugh so hard that my stomach hurts. There are also some shockingly funny scenes such as Ben Stiller killing a panda bear and wearing the panda head on his own head because he has gone crazy ala Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now.
Or the conversation Kirk and Tugg have about why Forest Gump and Rain Man did so well for those actors playing mentally handicapped roles, but because Ben played a role where he went full out "retard", it was meant to bomb:
Kirk Lazarus: Everybody knows you never go full retard.
Tugg Speedman: What do you mean?
Kirk Lazarus: Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'. Not retarded. You know Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded. Peter Sellers, "Being There." Infantile, yes. Retarded, no. You went full retard, man. Never go full retard. You don't buy that? Ask Sean Penn, 2001, "I Am Sam." Remember? Went full retard, went home empty handed...
And of course the way Robert played his role of the Sergeant so perfectly to the point he began to think he truly is a black man lost in the jungle:
Kirk Lazarus: I know what dude I am. I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!
Kirk Lazarus: Man, I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary.
*This is true because I listened to the dvd commentary, and Robert made sure to stay in his role as Osiris*
Tropic Thunder may not be a masterpiece of filmmaking but it is one movie you can have such a great time watching.
Katiebabs
