“TROPIC THUNDER”
Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Steve Coogan
Released: Aug. 13, 2008

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Challenges everything Hollywood has become in a way that will have you laughing all the way through.

I DO NOT like Ben Stiller. I am only a fan of Jack Black in certain movies, and Robert Downey Jr. has only really existed for me since “Iron Man” (I know, I’m young and naive, thanks in advance for chuckling at me). I also don’t like drug addicts, most rappers, movies about farting, or watching people get blown up.

So, you may be asking, why the heck did I even want to see “Tropic Thunder”?

I am not sure, actually. I like comedies. I like things that make fun of other things. And I heard it was very good. Plus, I work at the movie theater, so I got to see it and eat popcorn for free!

I guess I was also curious. From the very caucasian Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of an African-American (kind of) to the use of the word “retard” (surprisingly in context) to Tom Cruise’s brutal mockery of fat, balding studio execs who like to dance to dumb rap songs, “Tropic Thunder,” arguably this summer’s biggest comedy hit, has been generating controversial buzz for months. I really wanted to see whether or not it was all worth it.

“Tropic Thunder” is the name of a book about the Vietnam War that is being made into a movie also called “Tropic Thunder,” which is different from the movie we’re seeing, which is about the making of “Tropic Thunder,” and it’s all just pretty much called “Tropic Thunder.” To help dispel the inevitable confusion, I will, from here on, refer to the film being made in this film as "the fake movie."

The fake movie stars Tug Speedman (Stiller), Jeff Portnoy (Black), Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.), Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). Speedman is an action star whose popularity is slowly depleting after his attempt at winning an Oscar by playing a mentally retarded man in what has been called the worst movie ever made, and he is trying to gain back his reputation with the lead role in the fake movie.

Portnoy is a fat heroin addict, most recently (in)famous for a movie (“The Fatties”) in which he dons wigs and fat suits to play an entire family of fat people who like to fart a lot.

Lazarus is a legitimate, Oscar-winning actor who is famous for really absorbing himself in his roles. In the fake movie, he plays an African-American soldier and undergoes a skin-darkening procedure for the role. He is constantly at odds with the rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino, an actual African-American who resents Lazarus’ attempt to make his speech more “authentic.” Chino is best known for his rap videos in which he is surrounded by sweaty, half-naked women, and for hawking an energy drink called “Booty Sweat” and an energy bar called “Bust-A-Nuts.”

The movie opens, after some hilarious fake trailers and a commercial for Booty Sweat, with the filming of a very emotional scene from the fake movie. The director (Steve Coogan) feels that his actors aren't connecting well enough with their environment and their characters, so he decides to abandon them in the middle of a Vietnamese jungle surrounded by hidden cameras for some guerrilla filming. Just a few minutes into their attempt to survive, they run into the Flaming Dragons, a drug cartel, the largest suppliers of heroin in Asia. The actors, however, believe that these people are also actors hired to play the Viet Cong, and it pretty much goes without saying that trouble ensues.

You can probably already tell that this movie might be kind of offensive to everyone alive, especially considering how almost every sentence in the movie includes at least one, usually two, curse words. However, the intention of the movie isn't to be offensive to anyone except Hollywood and the actors who go to such ridiculous lengths to either win Oscars, get laughs, or just get famous.

After seeing the film, it seems to me that the whole controversy surrounding it is actually sort of ironic, since that's kind of the point. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. (or rather, his character) dresses up as a black man, and a convincing one at that. But he does it to point out how ridiculously far some actors will go just to win awards.

That's the same reason Stiller's character played a mentally retarded man. In essence, the role was taking advantage of people with mental disabilities just to win an award or even gain some laughs. Thanks to some somewhat ironic advice from Lazarus, and after being forced by the Flaming Dragons to re-enact scenes from the film countless times, Speedman does eventually realize the error of his ways.

You may have heard something about Tom Cruise having a role in the movie. You may not recognize him at all, but his portrayal of fat, balding studio executive Les Grossman has almost fully restored his awesomeness in my opinion, despite the fact that in real life he might be sort of insane. The movie also features cameos from Lance Bass, Maria Menounos, Tobey Maguire, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Voight, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tyra Banks, and other stars, and all of them, while fairly short, are quite funny.

The entire movie is a mockery of Hollywood and its actors, directors, crew members, agents, and studio executives, and in my opinion, a very, very successful one. From the fake trailers at the beginning to Cruise dancing his way through the end credits, it was a really crude but extremely clever, hilarious film.

“Tropic Thunder” is currently playing at the Goodrich Savoy 16, 232 W. Burwash, Savoy, and the Beverly 18, 910 Meijers Drive, Champaign.

“Tropic Thunder” AT A GLANCE

• Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Coogan
• Directed by: Ben Stiller
• Written by: Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux
• Genre: Action, Comedy
• Rated: R
• Runtime: 107 min.
• Release date: Aug. 13, 2008
• Summary (from IMDb): Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.