Tropic Thunder B

In Theatres, Rated R, 107 Minutes

While Ben Stiller the actor tends to get old real quick, Ben Stiller the director has managed to make some films that hold up pretty well. The Cable Guy (1996) has developed a sizeable following since its initial release, and Zoolander (2001) boasts several phrases now in the pop lexicon (“I’ve got the black lung, pop”, “Mer-man. Mer-man!”). Still, there’s been little in his writing/directing past that would lead one to believe he was capable of churning out the most talked about comedy of the summer. Tropic Thunder is exactly that, although it owes quite a bit to Hollywood’s unwavering devotion to itself, even the skewering of itself, and the movie critics who love to think that getting the joke means they’re part of the machine.

The set-up is as follows: a group of five Hollywood actors set out to make a Vietnam biopic. With the actors continually primping and fighting, the director determines to take them out into the country and shoot “guerilla style” to get more authenticity. When they get caught between the crosshairs of real drug dealers with machine guns, they can’t figure out if it’s all part of the movie or the real deal until it’s too late. Ben Stiller is great at Tugg Speedman, an action star looking for legitimacy. Jack Black is bearable (which is saying something for me) as an Eddie Murphy-type comic actor with a heroin problem. Robert Downey Jr. is the best thing in a funny movie, playing an Australian playing a black soldier, who is so committed, he won’t break character even though he’s the only one convinced they’re really in danger. Jay Barachul (Knocked Up) as the young nerd-type and Brandon T. Jackson (I don’t know him from anything) as the legitimate black man round out the five soldiers on location.

The skewering of Hollywood is funny, with the most hilarious lines being the infamous “retard” rant coming from Downey Jr. The supporting cast is also money. You’ve heard about Cruise, who reminds you how great he really can be in his most against-type performance since Magnolia, but for my money McConaughey as Stiller’s agent and Nick Nolte as the Vietnam vet turned author that pinned the original Tropic Thunder deserve every bit as much credit. That said, the film at times plays like one long inside joke. If you don’t know your Hollywood Insider, there isn’t nearly as much for you. What’s more, the whole charade can get a little cloying after awhile. Who really buys that Hollywood is being critiqued or even tweaked in a $100 million dollar film coming out of a big studio?

The laughs are a bit hit-and-miss, but when they hit, they hit very hard. It’s worth mentioning that this bad boy is rated R for violence, and it definitely earns it (Lawyer, you’ve been warned). I turned my head on several occasions. Tropic Thunder is a fun and funny movie with every member of the ensemble cast coming through in spades. Even if it’s not as consistently good as advertised, it’s still a good time. B.