Tropic Thunder [Blu-ray]

Director: Ben Stiller

Overview

Ben Stiller's satirical look at Hollywood, Tropic Thunder concerns the production of an epic Vietnam War film that quickly derails thanks to the giant egos of everyone involved in the production. Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, an action hero trying to segue out of that genre. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addicted fat comic also attempting to change his image by taking on such a serious film. They star alongside Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), one of the world's most awarded actors, and a man who insists on immersing himself totally in a role. In this case, that means Lazarus has had his skin dyed in order to portray an African-American soldier. After their outrageous behavior lands the film's director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), in very hot water with producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise), Cockburn takes the advice of grizzled Vietnam vet Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte); in order to gain control of his performers, Cockburn drops the actors off in the jungle, planning to film the movie guerrilla-style with hidden cameras. When the group stumbles upon a heroin production camp, the actors are unaware that they are in very real danger.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/01/2013
UPC:	0883929301478
Original Release:	0000
Source:	Paramount Catalog
Language:	English
Sales rank:	9,350

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jack Black	Jeff 'Fats' Portnoy
Ben Stiller	Speedman,Script Supervisor - Vietnam Crew
Robert Downey Jr.	Kirk Lazarus
Jay Baruchel	Kevin Sandusky
Steve Coogan	Damien
Danny McBride	Cody
Brandon T. Jackson	Alpa Chino
Nick Nolte	Four Leaf Tayback
Tom Cruise	Les Grossman
Bill Hader	Studio Executive Rob Slolom
Brandon Soo Hoo	Tran
Matthew McConaughey	Rick Peck
Jeff Kahn	Snooty Waiter - Fatties Trailer
Anthony Ruivivar	Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head - Hot LZ
Eric Winzenried	Chopper Pilot - Hot LZ
Valerie Azlynn	Damien's Assistant - Vietnam Crew
David Pressman	First Assistant Director - Vietnam Crew
Jeff Weidemann	Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Nadine Ellis	Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Rachel Avery	Speedman Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Rod Tate	Alpa's Posse - Vietnam Crew
Maria Menounos	Maria Menounos - Access Hollywood
Tyra Banks	Tyra Banks - The Tyra Banks Show
Yvette Nicole Brown	Peck's Assistant - Peck's Office
Reggie Lee	Byong - Flaming Dragon Compound
Trieu Tran	Tru
Matt Levin	cameraperson
Dempsey Silva	special effects assistant
Justin Theroux	Jan Jurgen
Theodore Shapiro	Composer

Technical Credits

Justin Theroux

Etan Cohen

Ben Stiller

Justin Theroux	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Etan Cohen	Screenwriter
Ben Stiller	Screenwriter,Producer
Stuart Cornfeld	Producer
Eric McLeod	Producer
Mark Read	Special Effects
Steven Ito	Stunts
Rex Reddick	Stunts
Al Laverde	Key Grip
Francine Maisler	Casting
Eric McLoed	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Ben Stiller's biggest problem as a director has been that his material has never quite been worthy of his obvious ambition. But in Tropic Thunder, a satire about the insecurity and immaturity of movie stars, which he co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, Stiller's obvious comfort and confidence in the material grounds the film so firmly that, for the first time, his directorial ambitions can flourish. The premise is that five actors -- three of them international superstars -- are stranded somewhere in Asia believing they are shooting a guerrilla-style Vietnam War epic, when they're in fact caught up in very real danger. This structure serves up so many delicious possibilities that Stiller and his cohorts can't help themselves, they try everything: physical comedy; self-serious Oscar-bait trailers; profanity-laced diatribes from Hollywood power players -- they even mock the horrors of drug withdrawal, all the while playing up the ceaseless insincerity of almost everyone involved in moviemaking. Well-shot by cinematographer John Toll, and cannily edited by Greg Hayden, the film is a visual treat. Moving briskly from joke to joke, Tropic Thunder, much like Hot Fuzz, works as both as an action film and as a spoof of action films. When there are visual allusions to other Vietnam classics like Apocalypse Now or Platoon, the point is never just to reference those great works -- there's always something else going on in those scenes to make them funny, so the homages simply add another layer of laughter. The care that went into the art direction, for instance (especially in the movie memorabilia on display in an agent's office), will bring a smile to anyone paying attention. Nobody can be faulted for missing some of these subtle pleasures, however, because the big jokes are so consistently uproarious. Everyone from Steve Coogan, as the befuddled British director, to Danny McBride, as a gung-ho special-effects man, to Matthew McConaughey, playing a loyal, unctuous agent, takes full advantage of the numerous opportunities to score laughs. Jay Baruchel deserves particular praise for playing the straight man flawlessly against each and every one of these raging lunatics. But it's Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian critical darling revered for his chameleon-like method acting, who will keep viewers doubled up with laughter. The character undergoes a radical surgical process that turns his skin black so that he can play an African-American role, and Lazarus refuses to break character, even when the cameras are off. His ongoing verbal battles with entrepreneurial rapper and fellow cast member Alpa Chino (a rock-solid Brandon T. Jackson, whose character gives the film its screamingly funny first scene) become so comically convoluted that they defuse the racial tension. That comedic shock value adds yet another dimension to a movie that already draws upon the rich tradition of Hollywood self-mockery, from Sullivan's Travels to The Player. Time will tell if this film ends up in the pantheon with those poison pen letters to Tinsletown, but it is safe to say that Tropic Thunder is the most consistently funny movie Hollywood managed to produce in the summer of 2008.