I never really “got” Ben Stiller. When my friends were guffawing and sniggering at
Meet the Parents, I was staring at the screen blankly. When they were quoting
Zoolander and giving their best blue steel down the barrel of a camera, I felt I’d missed the punch line. I guess Ben Stiller just didn’t turn me on comedically.
And so I expected to leave the screening of his latest film,
Tropic Thunder, feeling similarly underwhelmed. It was possibly because of these low expectations that I ended up enjoying it.
For those who haven’t seen the
trailer, the film is an “action comedy” about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever. After ballooning costs (and the out of control egos of the pampered cast) threaten to shut down the movie, the frustrated director leads his cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia for “increased realism”, where they inadvertently encounter real bad guys. Hilarity ensues.
The greatest characteristic of the film is its excellent ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey Jnr, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise (who does a great cameo as an expletive-spitting Hollywood executive. But don’t get ahead of yourself, Tom, I still think you’re a knob). So even if you’re not a mad Ben Stiller fan, there are plenty of other people to win your heart.
The brightest star is Downey Jnr. His comic timing is impeccable, his accents are suitably ridiculous, and there’s very little doubt that
despite his loud denials, there is more than a touch of Russell Crowe to his Australian character, Kirk Lazarus.
Kudos also goes to
Danny McBride as the patriotic pyrotechnics expert,
Jay Baruchel (who was most recently seen in
Knocked-Up), and
Brandon T. Jackson, who works beautifully in his scenes with Downey Jnr.
The biggest let down in this movie is Jack Black. He seems to have crossed the line from being a “larger than life” character to a chronic over actor. My guess is that he is too used to being the centre of attention in his films. When he’s required to bounce off others and share the comic spotlight, he fails miserably.
Despite this slight glitch, the film is a blast. Both a kid in school uniform and an older chap sitting near me nearly busted a nut laughing, so it’s safe to say that this film will appeal to a broad audience.
Presuming that you’re
not sensitive about the word “retard” and you are in the mood for 107 minutes of silly, you should have a lot of fun with it too.
Tropic Thunder is released on August 21.
You can view the trailer here on TheVine.