‘Tropic Thunder’ overstays its welcome
If someone took all the great Vietnam War classics such as ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘Platoon,’ and ‘Full Metal Jacket’ (among others), put them into a blender for about five minutes, and then handed the unlikely mix over to Mad TV, the result would be ‘Tropic Thunder.’
Ben Stiller’s intentions fall nothing short of positive in this movie within a movie, but as with any other of its type, satirical humor can only be effective up to a certain point… in this case, one that should’ve had credits rolling way before two hours had passed. But at least Stiller knew to make the final act worthy. Not to mention a few unprecedented cameos that might give you more respect for some of Hollywood’s most hated faces.
Tugg Speedman (Stiller) is a mediocre action movie star who has already failed at making it big, and is now forced to count his lucky stars as he awaits a hopefully successful future. Enter Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) who teams Speedman up with a comedian drug addict (Jack Black) and an Australian Oscar winner (Robert Downey Jr.) to make a new war movie. As the Breakfast Club combination exaggerate their differences on set, director Cockburn gets fed up with their issues, and decides to throw his actors into the middle of a real war as a special “training” method that could cost these past and present stars their very lives.
Satire is always the easiest genre to respond to, simply because the reactions are always gonna be mixed, but for once in my movie going days, I can honestly say that performances are what carried this big joke of a movie. And even though the humor sort of dries up early, these goof balls have more to offer than just their potty mouths. Ben Stiller brings his usual clench of emotion, which is practically a mirror to Charlie Sheen’s ‘Platoon’ recruit (I guess Charlie does surf this one time), while Jack Black puts a blondie gun crazed niche into his “Tenacious” ego.
But the real treat of this thunderous comedy is Robert Downey Jr. as he trades in his iron suit for brown skin and an afro in a performance that is about as witty as Eddie Murphy’s Klumps, and as daring as Heath Ledger’s Joker. Stiller and Black leave good impressions on their respective ropes, but Downey strikes while the iron is hot; making this HIS stage. Let’s just hope that somebody doesn’t get the wrong impression of what he’s trying to do here, otherwise he might have to go ahead and start making early preparations for ‘Iron Man 2.’
Much like ‘Zoolander,’ the door may have been left wide open for Ben Stiller to take this one into his own hands, but I’m not sure I would call this a directorial success for Gay Focker. He gets so much help from the co stars and cinematography crew, that it almost seems as if the whole thing belongs to whomever the audience decides. The casting chemistry works very effectively, and the laughs come full force, but it doesn’t take long for viewers to begin wondering how much longer before the final confrontation; which for some, may be good enough to save the whole thing.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Aug 8 2008. Filed under Reviews.
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