Tropic Thunder
Published April 5, 2024
Film info
- Title Tropic Thunder
- Director Ben Stiller
- Year 2008
- Run time 1hr 47m
- Genres War, Adventure, Comedy, Action
- Tagline Get some
While shooting a war film, the director attempts to liven up proceedings by dropping the principle actors into the middle of a real jungle, claiming he is going to capture their performance with hidden cameras. The hapless group including drug-addled comedy star Jeff Portnoy and po-faced method man Kirk Lazarus are completely unaware when a series of unfortunate events leads them into the middle of a real war zone.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:58 | “When it happened again…” Haha. |
| 3:35 | When you’re only known for an upside down kiss. |
| 13:31 | “One month behind schedule, just five days into shooting.” |
| 18:27 | What happened to Judi Dench? No! |
| 26:46 | Well I did NOT see that coming. |
| 31:46 | “I don’t drop character until I done the DVD commentary.” |
| 42:03 | The guy bit a bat. He’ll become Batman, yes? |
| 46:29 | Little talk on Blu-Ray versus DVD while you’re trekking through the jungle. |
| 50:07 | Panda! |
| 58:16 | “Were there some rewrites that I missed?” |
| 1:02:40 | Love his ‘can you find out who that was’ at the end. |
| 1:11:45 | “Are we cool?” “Not really.” |
| 1:32:58 | What DID happen here? |
| 1:37:33 | Actual Lance Bass! |
Thoughts
I’ve been nervous of this film, not really knowing anything about it other than the controversy around Robert Downey Jr’s character. But then I saw that he was nominated for an Oscar, and whilst of course that doesn’t mean it’s not controversial, it does at least mean there’s something to it and it should be part of the conversation. So, eventually plucked up the courage to give it a watch.
There are uncomfortable things in there - Downey Jr’s character, the Simple Jack movie - but actually in context, they should be uncomfortable and they are making a wider point. There are some surprising moments too, and obviously a lot to love about the meta take on the hideous aspects of Hollywood. But if I’m honest, if you take away the controversial things, it’s really not a very good film, not very funny, and I think meta has been done better elsewhere.
Definitely worth a watch to understand the cultural references but not something I’ll care to revisit.
Rating: 2 / 5