From prestige pictures to summer blockbusters, movies are Hollywood’s proverbial golden goose. But with movies comes baggage, like those who have super egos or who are just spoiled brats on and off the set. As the son of comic thespians, Ben Stiller has seen all that the medium has to offer. Now he skewers it.
Having turned the runway-model world on its head with Zoolander, Stiller returns to the director’s chair and focuses his attention on the Hollywood Machine. It’s clear the many films made about the Vietnam War and the “Hearts of Darkness” documentary about the production woes of Coppola’s Apocalypse Now inspired Stiller to make Tropic Thunder. Here we have a troupe of actors who thinks they are shooting this big-budget Vietnam War flick in a guerilla-style way, with cameras positioned throughout the jungle; but they act out the scenes in the woods without any idea of the seriousness of the situation.
The riotous comedy is equal parts Hollywood satire and action-comedy spoof. Stiller and company takes aim at actors, directors, producers, the art of acting, basically the working cogs of any production. Even movie trailers aren’t safe from Stiller’s comedic wrath. Like Altman’s The Player or David Mamet’s State of Main, which are chock full of Hollywood insider jokes, Thunder has similar aspirations.
Stiller and co-star Jack Black may be leading comic men, and I use the word “leading” loosely for Black, but it is Robert Downey Jr. that steals the movie. He earns the most laughs as the method-acting Kirk Lazarus. His character is an Australian actor who has won the coveted Oscar five times. But for the Vietnam War epic Lazarus has surgically dyed his skin to transform himself into the army company’s black sergeant. The man is so attuned to the role that he remains in character at all times.
This annoys Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), a black rapper who hates Lazarus’s interpretations of pretending to be African-American – to the point he jokingly mocks Lazarus calling him “Kangaroo Jack.” Alpha’s name has a suggestive meaning that many should catch right away. (Sadly this director’s cut goes further to prove its subtext.) Anyone who has seen an episode of “Cribs” on MTV knows that rappers look to Brian De Palma’s Scarface as their Citizen Kane. So a rap name that pays some kind respect to the film’s star is the perfect way to cash in. Alpa Chino, besides rapping, promotes his own merchandise: Bust-a-Nut bars and the Booty Sweat energy drink.
An ad for Booty Sweat runs before the movie begins, as does a trio of faux trailers, which highlight the three stars of TT. Along with Lazarus is washed-up action hero Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), who has gone back to the action genre after his turn as handicapped farmhand “Simple Jack” proved to be a box office disaster, and Jeff Portnoy (Black), who specializes in flatulence humor. He’s a heroin addict and a studio liability, yet somehow he got a role in a big-budget Vietnam film.
The set-up to the primary action happens after first-time director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) loses control on the set. A patch of jungle is incinerated and no cameras were rolling. He corrals the stars, along with John “Four Leaf” Tayback (Nick Nolte), author of Thunder, and explosives expert Cody (Danny McBride), to shoot in the jungle guerrilla-style. But something happens that puts Speedman as the lead dog of the picture. Their trek through the jungle is intercut with scenes back in Hollywood, involving Speedman’s agent (Matthew McConaughey) and a studio exec.
I’ll leave the summary at that, because this is truly a comedy worth experiencing without spoilers, especially the appearance of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Ah hell, what’s there to hide? It’s Oprah’s favorite couch jumper, Tom Cruise. Yeah, forget all those preconceived notions and terms like “weirdo,” or his role in last year’s Lions for Lambs. This is his comeback special.
Stiller and his co-writers, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, bring their own horror stories from working on location and go to town with it, both verbally and physically. Put together, this comedy is one of buffoonery and kick-ass action. Downey as a blaxploitation relic is dead-on and one of the best movie characters of ’08. If you can buy him as a black guy, Black as a strung-out comedian, and Stiller as the fizzled-out action hero, then surely you’ll get the humor in Tropic Thunder.
It’s a comedy that is as over-the-top as they come, and everything clicks. The comedy doesn’t hinge on simple throwaway one-liners. Facial expressions and reactionary jokes stir as much laughter, making it one of the most entertaining comedies (if not the best) of 2008.
With this director’s cut release, Ben Stiller has incorporated close to thirteen minutes of excised footage back into the film. Most are scene extensions, sometimes only adding a few seconds. But the biggest addition happens early on and it is a massive party scene that takes place after the first week of production on the war film. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the director’s cut is better, but since the Blu-ray failed to include the original cut, I guess it’s the best we can hope for in high-def. For now.
Taking a look at the audio and visuals, the comedy is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 as part of a 1080p/AVC codec. Having seen Thunder three times in theaters and again on BD, the difference is extraordinary. Like when they navigate through the jungle. The colors pop out at you. The green forest is lush with a great level of detail. The sweat glistening off of Black’s forehead, Stiller’s face covered in dirt and soot, you can see everything. The blacks, too, are strikingly dark.
Supporting the strong visuals is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track and it is equally sound. The rat-a-tat of gunfire in the opening sequence and climax play off all the surrounding speakers, putting you in the middle of the action. The jungle’s incineration will also give your subwoofer a workout. And while it would be easy enough for the audio engineers to emphasize these sequences and call it day, they manage to include ambient sounds into the stereo mix, with twigs breaking and birds chirping.
While the unrated director’s cut is special in itself, there are a slew of special features that will keep you entertained for several hours. This would include having to listen to the two feature-length commentaries in their entirety, of course.
The first filmmakers commentary has Stiller, Justin Theroux, producer Stuart Cornfeld, cinematographer Jeff Mann, production designer Jeff Mann and editor Greg Hayden. This is a more hands-on track about the nuts and bolts of the production. As such, it can get a little tedious, especially since it is difficult to tell many of the speakers apart, other than Stiller.
The second commentary features Stiller, Black and Downey, Jr. For this alternative track Downey stays in character up until the end credits. It plays off a joke from the film where he said he doesn’t break character until he’s done the DVD commentary. It’s fun at first, but the joke gets old. It would have worked better if he weren’t in character.
Moving to the video featurettes on the BD, most of which are presented in HD, it begins with the genesis of the project. Before the Thunder (HD – 4:54) includes comments from Stiller, Theroux and Cornfeld, and a few principle actors. It is very EPK-ish as are most of the other featurettes that follow. Stiller admits that he started formulating the idea for Tropic Thunder back in 1987 when he was working with Steven Spielberg on Empire of the Sun. He worked on the script for close to a decade, before Theroux (a castmate of Stiller’s in Zoolander and Duplex) and him started batting around ideas via e-mail. This is all and good, but the best moment of the feature is footage of the first read-through. Too bad the entire read-through couldn’t have been recorded for special feature consideration.
The Hot LZ (HD – 6:25) is a feature on the opening sequence and how it was created. Interesting to learn that the film’s cinematographer, John Toll, also photographed Braveheart.
Blowing S#%t Up (HD – 6:18) is as advertised. Michael Meinardus, the special effects supervisor, demonstrates the liquid propane tanks and gasoline used to create the great, big scorched-earth sequence.
Designing the Thunder (HD – 7:31) is about the sets created for the production. Stiller and producers Cornfeld and Eric McLeod give thoughts on the location and its remoteness.
The Cast of Tropic Thunder (HD) gives the viewer a “play all” option to see each featurette about the principle cast in succession. Running a combined twenty-two minutes, Stiller, Black, Downey, Jr., Brandon Jackson, Jay Baruchel, Danny Mcbride and Nick Nolte talk a few minutes about the characters they portray.
Rain of Madness (HD) is the reason why extras shouldn’t be overlooked. It is the biggest highlight of the extras included. Having seen a trailer on the Internet around the time Tropic Thunder was released in theaters, I hoped for the chance that it would be included as an extra on the eventual BD release some day. I got my wish. “Rain of Madness” is a thirty-minute mockumentary about Damien Cockburn’s directorial debut. Pure genius. Love the inclusion of Ben Stiller’s failed comic pilot “Heat Vision and Jack” as an early acting gig for Jeff Portnoy.
Make-Up Test with Tom Cruise (HD – 1:34) is some early test footage of Cruise, prior to the extra girth and arm hair. With the cameras rolling he starts dancing for no apparent reason. It was so outrageous that they worked the dancing into the film. It may not be Risky Business, but it is pretty damn funny.
For the deleted scenes / extended sequences / alternative ending (HD) section, you get four extra scenes and the ending. Most were entertaining, except for the “snorkeling” scene. Though when it comes to endings, the one they went with was the right one. Combined, this feature is nineteen minutes, and it includes optional commentary and optional introductions.
Full Mags (HD) is an abbreviated term to describe a magazine’s worth of film. Here we are treated to eleven minutes worth of raw footage with Downey, Jr. and Stiller improvising on set.
Finishing off the extras is the four-minute promotional piece that aired during this year’s MTV Movie Awards (SD). I didn’t see the telecast but watched it on Youtube enough times. Nothing like laughing at seeing Downey kick and punch Black “down there” over and over again.
When activating the BD-Live feature, you can download deleted scenes from “Rain of Madness,” video rehearsals and additional “Full Mags” outtakes which appear on the two-disc DVD release.
Tropic Thunder is a sharply-written comedy that has plenty of replay value. Even after four viewings, I can pop this disc in the machine and laugh. Robert Downey, Jr. continues his plan for world domination, starring in two hit movies – one a franchise that will keep him busy for the next four years (at least), the other one…well let’s see what the Academy has to say. This BD release continues Paramount’s stellar commitment to Blu-ray with hit titles like Iron Man, Transformers, and classics like The Godfather. With a strong visual transfer and blistering sound, and extras to boot, this disc is an easily recommendation.
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Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks present Tropic Thunder. Directed by Ben Stiller. Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte and Tom Cruise. Written by Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. Running time: 121 minutes. Unrated. Released on BD: November 18, 2008. Available at Amazon.
