DVD Review: Tropic Thunder

Image from source, Wikipedia

WARNING: Here there may be spoilers. . .

I started watching this movie this past spring at my parents' house. They pronounced it "stupid," and we popped it out, and put in Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser. And, boy howdy, that movie was stupid. After sitting in my travel bag for many months, the DVD was rescued, and finally watched this afternoon.

Tropic Thunder starts out very promisingly, with three hilarious "coming attractions" trailers, all of which you can nearly believe that Hollywood would produce. The funniest of w hich was Satan's Alley, with Robert Downey Jr. and Tobey Maguire as monks with a forbidden love. . .to an Enigma soundtrack! From there, the movie proper starts, with an over-the-top, gory Viet Nam story, which we soon come to realize is actually a movie shoot.

Over budget, and sick of the drama-queen actors, the director plunks them all down into the real Vietnamese jungle. Unbeknownst to him, there is a real paramilitary Vietnamese drug-running group out there with them. The premise doesn't logically lend itself to comedy, but there is plenty to be found, some very dark. Much of the film is a parody of Hollywood itself, and the ridiculous demands actors make. Industry politics and the quest for Acadamy Awards feature prominently, along with method acting. If you're a fan of the "sausage making" in Hollywood, there is much to like here.

I was surprised that Downey got an Acadamy Award for his role as a method Australian actor who undergoes pigment augmentation to play a black Viet Nam vet. He claims to never break character until it is time for the DVD commentaries. Having watched the film, the unlikely use of "black face" to win an Oscar may just pay off. Downey is good, and a highlight of the film. Tom Cruise is cast against type as a Hollywood producer. . .bald and bespectacled. . .and a total douche.

I can see why my parents thought it was stupid. They just weren't the audience for a picture making fun of the motion picture-making business. I am such an audience, and I loved it. It is all of course utterly preposterous, not believeable in the slightest. But it doesn't matter. It's a hoot and a half. I also loved the cute cameo at "The Oscars." I just don't recommend it for your parents, if they're over 60.

Recommended for everyone else