Tropic Thunder is funny for so many reasons. Mainly, the script. Which, I still can’t believe Ben Stiller wrote. I don’t give Ben Stiller credit for a whole lot. He’s funny in some of the things that he’s been in. And to be fair, when he is funny, he’s REALLY funny. Like Dodgeball. Dodgeball is one of my favorite comedies. That’s a great character. But it’s few and far between. This was a real gem. And not only did he write it, but he directed it, and starred in it, and was the executive producer of this movie. This was like, a “Ben Stiller” movie. It’s almost unbelievable.
And the characters are just fantastic. The thing most people talk about, and still talk about today, is Robert Downey Jr. playing blackface in a movie. And what’s so funny about that is that he stayed in character between shots, even when the cameras were off, to stay in the mindset of a method actor, to keep with the character that he was playing. Just to show how far some method actors will go to win awards.
And I really think Tom Cruise missed his calling by not going into comedy. I’ve disliked Tom Cruise in everything I’ve ever seen him in. I dislike Tom Cruise as an actor. I dislike Tom Cruise as a person. He’s probably a bad driver. I don’t know. I’ve never been in a car with him. But the juxtaposition of him in a comedic setting, for some reason, is just gold. It’s funny. You don’t believe Tom Cruise as an action star. He’s too small. You don’t believe Tom Cruise in some intense role. He’s not intimidating. But Tom Cruise in a fat suit, playing a bald Jew movie producer? That’s funny. That’s really funny. That makes me laugh. A lot…
What really pisses me off though, is that even back in 2008, there were protest groups who were boycotting this movie coming out because they used the word “retard” in the movie. Because Ben Stiller’s character is mentally disabled in one of his movies, and it was part of the storyline. That was the entire point of the plot of the movie. And then they had to put out press releases to these people saying how they weren’t making fun of handicapped people, but how they were making fun of Hollywood. And these protest groups were still mad about it. It’s the entire reason why censorship is my #1 most hated problem in this country.
So, yeah. Go and see Tropic Thunder. It’s a hilarious movie with some fantastic dialogue. There’s layers on top of layers with how it makes movies inside of movies. The whole thing is very meta. It’s the kind of movie that you can watch more than once and still laugh at, because it doesn’t have to be new to be funny. And remember, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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