Running time: 106 minutes
Rating 7 out of 10
Given the prevalence of Ben Stiller on the big screen - two or three big and usually commercially successful comedies a year - it's something of a surprise to find that his last directorial outing was Zoolander, way back in 2001. Stiller credits the idea for Tropic Thunder (which he also co-wrote) to the time he spent working on Spielberg's Empire of the Sun at the beginning of his career ,when he wondered what would happen if trouble hit a large Hollywood war production set in an inhospitable climate and country .Stiller does a good job of spoofing all things Hollyweird. He stars as Tugg Speedman, a fading action star assigned to play the lead in the screen version of Vietnam vet 'Fourleaf' Tayback's (Nick Nolte) war memoirs. Alongside Tugg are multiple Oscar-winner Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) who has undergone a controversial skin-darkening procedure in order to play a black soldier, and drug-addicted comedy star of the hit series 'The Fatties' (Jack Black, actually looking quite toned).
There are plenty of laughs at the excesses of Tinseltown, with the devil being in the detail: Lazarus' back story as a serious actor is highlighted by a wonderful trailer for Satan's Alley, a Brokeback Mountain for monks in which Tobey Maguire plays himself. Speedman's attempts to be taken seriously as a performer by playing a dunce in a previous outing called Simple Jack calls to mind any number of stars who have gone for Oscar glory by playing a mentally challenged character (Sean Penn's turn in I Am Sam is given a namecheck), and Matthew McConaughey is on top Ari Gold in Entourage form as the ballbusting agent back at base.
When the director (Steve Coogan) suffers a mishap and a hugely expensive explosion goes wrong, the stars are left in the jungle under the impression that they are filming it all 'reality' style. This is where the film starts to lose some of its comedic lustre and to all intents and purposes begins to actually become the type of movie it is trying to parody. Also less successful is the presence of one of the world's biggest superstars as the Mr Big financing the whole project.
On the whole though this is good value and a change from the usual formulaic stuff. Some protesters in the US have complained about the message given out by both Downey and Stiller and their respective character but as usual these are probably people who have either not seen the film or have missed the point entirely. Stiller gives the whole thing a cheeky and often hilarious touch, so it's worth hoping that he directs again before another eight years elapse.
Paul Hurley
