Big Surprises in Tropic Thunder

Posted by Mr. Naron, Aug 14 2008, 04:04 PM

The hype over this film could have killed it, but it didn't. The reason? They could have hyped even more. Going all the way back to the American Idol finale where Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Ben Stiller filled in as The Pips for a Gladys Night tribute, the three stars have been seen together giving the impression that the combination of the three would be the strength of the film. Then there was the fixation on Downey's character playing a blonde haired, blue eyed Australian Oscar winner undergoing a procedure turning him into a black man. All the trailers seemed to pinpoint that aspect.

And let's not forget the not-unpredictable reaction of the terminally sensitive crowd over the "Simple Jack" story line. The word "retard" gets thrown around more in this movie than at a Daily Kos screening of a President Bush State of the Union speech.

With all that going on in the months running up to the film, you think you've got a hold of it. You enter the theater a little wary of being let down by all the subtle and not-so-subtle promises made by the hype. Then the fake trailers take you completely by surprise because they follow vapid, real commercials and trailers. You don't realize you're already into the movie until you see Ben Stiller with a baby in one hand and an assault rifle in the other surrounded by the world on fire.

But the biggest and most satisfying surprise, however, is Tom Cruise. That's right, Tom Cruise. I've been trolling the movie blogs for months and I didn't hear a peep about his being in this film. And I didn't realize it was him until about half way through. The makers of the film did an excellent job of keeping it a secret and an even better job of using Cruises falling star to generate some heat. Cruise is absolutely hilarious.

Besides his performance, the strength of the film is Robert Downey Jr.--no surprise there, but it could have been a huge disappointment given all the lines fed to us in the trailers--and Ben Stiller's characteristically subdued performance. Actually, Stiller's best contribution was his skill as a filmmaker. He and his compadres behind the camera did a masterful job of keeping it funny from beginning to end. As for Stiller on screen, he delivers one of the best set up and delivered jokes in the whole movie. If you're an animal rights nut, you might want to skip this one.

Cameos are abundant, but not too abundant. Jon Voight pokes fun at himself in one sceen, whcih ought to make his blacklisting that much more difficult. Matthew Mcconaughey has more than a cameo, but he's kept to such a low dose, you're not likely to be annoyed. I actually enjoy his acting, so there wasn't much danger of overuse with me.

And even Jack Black, who has been heading towards Jim Carrey territory of late, has some very funny scenes. But I will warn you: He has the most cringe-inducing scene of the film as he goes through heroin withdrawls. Ít's verbal, not visual, by the way. You've been warned.

Finally, and back to Robert Downey Jr., who is having by far the greatest comeback summer of any actor ever, no one could have played this roll like he did. I never thought he was a genius back when he was playing himself in Less than Zero or falling asleep in some stranger's kid's bed. But I'm a believer now. His character has so many levels and layers and bifurcations it's sick. The Motion Picture Academy needs to get over itself and start recognizing great acting in comedies.

That's unless they want Simple Jack made for real... Oh, wait, it already was. And it starred Sean Penn going "full retard".

My Mind is Clean