Tropic Thunder, under Things That are not Date Movies

Under no circumstances would I have paid to see a low-brow comedy Ben Stiller film, except that I was on Kauai while Tropic Thunder was being filmed. Don’t get me wrong- I am a Ben Stiller fan, but his gross-out movies usually succeed in grossing me out. As such, I did not expect much from TT, but I was impressed with Robert Downey Jr. cast as a confused actor playing a hackneyed black man. His character borrows from the Method Acting theory, a perennial favorite technique honed by Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.

In TT, an unlikely grouping of meta-actors recovering from washed-up fame and dud films are lured into the Viet Nam jungle by an ambitious director to reenact a war veteran’s harrowing story. The stars of this action film embark on a satirical journey of self-discovery and personal identity, motivated by their love of acting and the lime light, and then survival itself.

Of course there were laughs. You can’t put Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and the expected-unexpected cameos in one movie and not let your guard down a little. Although Robert Downey Jr. stole the show as far as I’m concerned (he is now my favorite actor), it seems that everyone went to great lengths to conquer new territory. While a pasty white, overweight Tom Cruise might have intended to steal this show, and he was amusing, he merely succeeded in creeping me out even further. His repeated dance routine was funny at first, but then it kept going and I was distracted by the thought of the bill for Suri’s future therapy sessions.

And it seems nearly every effort was made to offend. Use of the word “retard” notably has some up in arms. Offensive language dominates the script.  There is racial stereotyping, blood and gore, a white actor in blackface, airborne toddlers- all in the name of profiling the Hollywood big-budget film industry, of course.

In between pyrotechnics and shouted curse words, Stiller flexes his biceps as the actors discuss their craft and why taking risks in their career is not always the best route (cut-away to Tom Cruise) and why maintaining dignity is a means of maintaining an audience (insert Jack Black farting here). Matthew McConaughey, flown in last minute while Owen Wilson was treated for depression, plays a desperate agent to Stiller’s Tugg Speedman, demonstrating that career insecurity permeates Hollywood strata and nearly everyone in the industry is working for accolades and positive affirmation.