TROPIC THUNDER

Tropic Thunder is the next big comedy coming out in this summer movie craze. It starts with a motley crew of award winning actors struggling to work together on a movie that’s set during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, nothing their director says can get them to cooperate. So, he decides to throw them in to the thick of the true rainforests of Vietnam, and shoot the movie guerrilla style. Unfortunately, there are armies of drug runners spread throughout the forest, and the actors, armed with guns filled with blanks, think it’s all part of the movie. That’s a hell of a setup for a movie, and boy is it executed well.

 

This was the first time I’ve ever been in a press screening where the stone-faced journalists were actually laughing, and laughing quite veraciously at that. I haven’t laughed this much in a movie, in a long, long time. It’s the type of film that you’ll be quoting for months to come.

 

The story is a definite lampoon on the film industry as a whole, everything from the over the top acting, to the agent arguing for his clients contractual right to have a Tivo… in the middle of the jungle. It’s even full of hilarious twists, and occasional, well-placed, dramatic moments.

 

Ben Stiller played the Speedman, the ex-super star trying to save his career. It was definitely a character that Stiller has played in the past, very similar to Zoolander. But he nailed it, and there were no jokes that didn’t hit. Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) was the overweight, conflicted, cokehead, comedian who is sick of being treated like trash. This was a fairly fresh character for Black, and believe it or not he played a more serious character then in his past movies.

 

Robert Downey Jr. played Kirk Lazarus, the highly acclaimed, artsy fartsy actor, that’s playing a role out of his norm. The same applied for Downey’s acting, it was a more over the top version of Iron Man, and something fresh from him. All in all this film has good acting, don’t expect Oscars, but it’s a comedy film after all!

 

There’s only one thing that has me concerned about the film, if you’re not familiar with the intricacies of the movie industry, then there are jokes that will go right over your head. Fortunately, in a world with entertainment news on 24 hours a day, there are few people who would be lost in the plot lines of Tropic Thunder. And they’re not reading this review anyway!

 

I was laughing from the first 5 minutes until the last. There were few lulls in the humor, and it I was elated to see a laugh out loud comedy. So, if you’re a fan of laughing, and who isn’t? Then watch for Tropic Thunder to hit a theater near you on August 13^th.