Tropic Thunder

Typical Hollywood comedy fare; Insert some fart jokes and big name stars in a zany vacation-esque adventure in which friendships are broken and rekindled in the small run time. Unconventional Hollywood comedy fare; Tropic Thunder. Incompetent douche Ben Stiller has not only created a masterpiece in the dying genre of comedy, but he creates a dynamite dissection of the repetitive machine that is Hollywood.


Opening the film up is four vignettes composing faux-promotional ads for the fictional actors of Tropic Thunder. Alpa Chino's Booty Sweat energy drink and Bust-A-Nut granola bar are the films openers. These several faux trailers are more entertaining than the entire self-absorbed run time of Grindhouse. The next trailers are several jabs at big films and stars referencing MTV awards and entertainment taboos as recklessness, celebrity nudity, and filmed homosexuals.


Jack Black's Jeff Portnoy is an actor who is the white equivalent of Eddie Murphy. This is a man who gets his kick from playing 12+ characters in his films about family's that exhibit several scenes of extensive Negro fart jokes. Well, the racial card is switched as the white family is predominately grossed or disappointed. The Nutty Professor is an abomination and Tropic Thunder recognizes this. The Oscar jokes go hand-in-hand with the neglect that Murphy's role in Dreamgirls received at the Academy Awards.


Alpa Chino's role is just one of the surprise breakout roles that are the catalyst for the extreme hilarity you will find in Tropic Thunder. The simple joke jabbed at his name is enough to make me squirm and point out the obvious role that Scarface had on urban society. You see, Black people need a role model. Whereas they cannot find one in some community worker or diligent government worker, they turn to a mediocre entertainer and uses his nihilistic and often drug-induced logic as their bible. It is almost fact that every rapper has a Scarface poster.


Now for the kicker. Robert Downey Jr.'s role. I'm sure you've heard of it. RDJ plays the "African-American" soldier Lincoln Osiris. This man goes as far as to quote The Jefferson's theme song. This is the supposed controversial move that has the film crew prepping for massive public outrage. RDJ in a modern Blackface. The performance from this man has me in awe. He can play the serious Kirk Lazarus, and the Kool-Aid loving Sarge himself. Nothing is more perfect than this. Tropic Thunder is either the greatest comedy ever made, or the worst.


Together with this magnificent cast including a laugh riot role played surprisingly fucking effective by Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder will literally make you shit yourself with laughter. This is the deep, sentimental humor that satirizes the stuff in Hollywood that people are afraid of. Tropic Thunder is the first in a (hopefully) long line of audacious comedies that build the barrier against "good taste." Forget all the bad press you may hear. Someone needs to tell the disability groups that you should never go full retard.


I could go on for paragraphs due to the movies inconspicuous ways of packing so much comedy into such a normal length film. Take my seeing it twice as a fierce badge of dedication and love to this pristine film. Tropic Thunder is a national treasure of an action film and seamlessly blends genres to create a form of retarded art. Tropic Thunder is the real dope. Get Some!

-mAQ