Critical Film Condition

One of the funny things about Ben Stiller is the fact that he wasn’t always so fixated in the types of movies he wanted to make. In “Permanent Midnight” he played a drug addicted screenwriter, showing that he had potential for dramatic roles, while in “Keep the Faith” he used his comic prowess, but in the lighter side of the comic spectrum. Lately, though, he has dedicated himself to darker comedies, which can be exemplified by his reunion with the Farrely brothers in “Heartbreak Kid”, with whom he had done “There’s Something About Mary” before. In comes “Tropic Thunder”, which takes all elements of dark, gritty comedies, and mixes them um with some sort of adrenaline tuned slapstick (or BOOMstick) satire. The fact that Robert Downey Jr.  plays an Australian actor playing a black character says it all, and is probably the reason why the movie generated such a buzz months before release, aside from the fact that, while not for all audiences, the movie is really really good.

“Tropic Thunder” has a rather simple story. A war movie is being made somewhere in Asia (I think Vietnam) and it’s over budget and late in schedule mainly because the cast, full of important stars, can’t keep their egos together. The fact that the director is inexperienced doesn’t help… So he and the author of the book in which the movie is based on decide to shoot the movie “guerrilla style”: namely getting the actors in a real warzone and filming it with hidden cameras. That’s about it and that’s all it actually needs.

The biggest grudge that I have with “Tropic Thunder” is that it was designed specifically for people, if only lightly, involved with the film industry, or hardcore movie fans. While some may see it as a senseless display of grotesque jokes and unnecessary violence (that even gave it a higher rating), some who know better because of extensive involvement with the industry know that everything that “Tropic Thunder” shows is an attempt (almost always successful) to either poke fun or just openly criticize what Hollywood has become in our time. Robert Downey Jr.’s character is an open attack to situations like in “Bridget Jones’ Diary”, where an American actress, who was recently awarded an Oscar, got the role of an iconic British book character, and had to stereotypically fake an accent to get credit where it isn’t due. Jack Black plays the drug-addicted comedian who limits his acting to fart and poop jokes. Ben Stiller plays the falling action star. Honoring the fact that Critical Film Condition is aimed at audiences who aren’t involved and are just looking for a good time in movies, who the hell cares, right? Sure, for some it may be interesting, but for some it will just be funny to see how Downey Jr. handles the role, which is nothing short of amazing. At one point he has to speak Chinese and he does THAT while being the black stereotype. It’s just funny as hell.

Ben Stiller deserves most of the credit for what “Tropic Thunder” turned out to be, even if the supporting cast is responsible for it being so good. Aside from the fact that some jokes the casual audience won’t get, “Tropic Thunder” has many moments where you’ll just laugh your ass off. And the amazing thing is, that the one who takes most of the credit is, believe me, Tom Cruise. Yes, the same guy who did “Top Gun” and jumped on a couch declaring his love for someone who’s old enough be his daughter on Oprah (For those still guessing, the guy from “Mission: Impossible”). Cruise is almost unrecognizable as the movie producer who doesn’t take shit from anyone. He is absolutely hilarious, getting most attention in a supporting role to the likes of Robert Downey Jr… Sure, Downey Jr.’s role is more diversified than Cruise’s, but nonetheless his character is hilarious mainly because he acts it out so well.

On a side note, every shot, special effect and satirically dramatic scene in the movie is convincing. Stiller really did a good job, and if the audience didn’t know that they were watching a dark-half-brainless comedy, some of the scenes could belong in a good, serious, war movie. It’s a big shut up from the director to all the skeptics who said that he was limited to acting in brainless comedies (he can also direct one)… The musical score by Theodore Shapiro is amazing, taking care of the “serious” aspects of the movie, while the soundtrack, featuring Steppenwolf and Credence Clearwater Revival, is nothing short of cool.

All around, “Tropic Thunder” is a very well put movie that may just not be cut out for all audiences, but has a lot of very very funny moments (Tom Cruise alone is worth the admission ticket) and some fancy directing by Ben Stiller. It IS the Summer’s biggest comedy, and it very well deserves to be.

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