Tropic Thunder is a very interesting film in so many ways. On one hand, it is a very smart film aimed at satirizing typical war films and the attitudes of the actors getting paid millions. But on the other hand, it is simply just a ridiculous and grossly violent jab at your typical soldier-type. There is not a very fine line between these two depictions, but either way, Tropic Thunder is definitely one to be discussed.
The plot of this film revolves around a group of actors that have been sent to a Vietnam-like island in order to shoot a classic action film. They were put there in order to get the real sense of what war was like in the jungles, but they also didn't know that an actual war was occurring. Which, of course, they get involved in. Ben Stiller directs and leads in this film, and honestly, his performance was pretty good, along with Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, and the fresh-out-of-rehab Robert Downey Jr. While they each individually have their own films that they starred in before (within the film), their characters manage to get along with each other. Except for Stiller and Downey Jr.'s characters. There is a lot of talk of racial differences in this film, and it can be perceived as, like mentioned earlier, either extremely smart or extremely insensitive. The biggest example, of course, was Downey Jr.'s character in a form of blackface. His character had pigmentation surgery done to him for the soldier role in the film, but this film failed to mention why that was important for his character, besides that he was a "method" actor. So essentially, Robert Downey Jr. was playing an Australian guy playing a black guy. While it was for comedic effect of course, the film seemed to focus too much on that fact, instead of letting it be the typical ludicrous American comedy. There was also the fact that the antagonists in the film were the stereotypical Asian drug dealers that operated out of a shithole in the middle of Jungle, Nowhere. But I digress.
Another of my main problems with this film was its representation of special needs people. Ben Stiller's character in the film acted in a film called Simple Jack, and he played a mentally-challenged farm boy named Jack. I understand that the writers of Tropic Thunder did not mean for this element to be offensive, in fact, they were meaning for it to be quite the opposite. However, I personally feel like the line was crossed because it tends to be very hard to differentiate satire and plain, offensive humor in this film. That was my only other complaint about this film, was that its level of satire was so extreme that it reached a point where even the most complacent moviegoer might think "wow, they really just said that."
Another of my main problems with this film was its representation of special needs people. Ben Stiller's character in the film acted in a film called Simple Jack, and he played a mentally-challenged farm boy named Jack. I understand that the writers of Tropic Thunder did not mean for this element to be offensive, in fact, they were meaning for it to be quite the opposite. However, I personally feel like the line was crossed because it tends to be very hard to differentiate satire and plain, offensive humor in this film. That was my only other complaint about this film, was that its level of satire was so extreme that it reached a point where even the most complacent moviegoer might think "wow, they really just said that."
Other than the fact that racial issues and mental disability were not represented well, this film does well in its other categories, including basic humor, plot, and soundtrack. All three of these were done fairly well, and I enjoyed those parts more than the others. All of the actors performed extremely well, and they excelled in making a movie about making a movie about making a movie, as confusing as that can be. And no war film set around the time of Vietnam would be complete without at least one track from Creedance Clearwater Revival. That would be preposterous. In conclusion, Tropic Thunder is a decent war comedy with a semi-confusing plot that is entertaining, to say the most. Let's just hope you don't get easily offended.
My Rating: ★★½
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