My Review of Tropic Thunder

The "great" actor, Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) has changed the pigmentation of his skin to play the African-American sergeant in the newest Vietnam War film. The major "action hero", Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is trying to prove to the movie-going public that he is an actor and not just another Arnold Schwartzenegger. Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), the comedian best known for a series of farting films in which he plays a grossly overweight family is trying to branch out and prove that he can be funny without having to fart.

The film production is in chaos. The director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) can't hold it together. He may lose his job. Then the man who supposedly lived through the events depicted in the film, Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte) tells Cockburn of his idea and away they all go.

Dropped into the heart of the jungle, where hostilities between the locals and American forces are still ramped, the group of actors begin to play out their roles. Soon however, some of the actors, namely Lazarus begin to realize that this is not just any film production. They realize that they may be in real danger. Tugg Speedman on the other hand has a hard time believing that the deaths and the threats they encounter along the way are real.

There is a lot of great dark comedy to be had in Tropic Thunder, a lot of which comes from the brilliant performance by Robert Downey Jr. He not only has to play an Australian actor, but he also has to play an Aussie playing black sergeant from the Vietnam era. It's also difficult to recognize Robert Downey when he is in full makeup. Jack Black also provides some great laughs, since his self-conscious character of Jeff Portnoy is a major heroine addict who brought some "Jelly Beans" with him. Then, last but not least, there's Ben Stiller. He's got the body of an action hero, but Stiller's Speedman never feels tough enough to be a Steven Siegal, let alone a Sylvester Stallone. However, Stiller provides some over-exaggerated jokes to keep the illusion alive.

Tom Cruise plays Les Grossman, a monster of a movie producer who cusses more than any single character I've ever seen in the movies. Matthew McConaughey plays Rick Peck or "The Pecker", Speedman's thoughtful and caring agent. Jay Baruchel plays Kevin Sandusky, the nerdy actor who really keeps the group from completely losing their minds. Brandon T. Jackson plays Alpa Chino - not to be confused with Al Pacino is a hip-hop artist with highly sexual songs and a secret that doesn't quite fit his image.

Final thoughts

I highly recommend Tropic Thunder for its dark comedy, amazing performances and shoot-'em-up action sequences. It's got a lot to offer. And for Stiller, I think Tropic Thunder is leaps and bounds better than Zoolander.