Tropic Thunder (2008)

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.

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers:

Justin Theroux (screenplay), Ben Stiller (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Kahn	...	Snooty Waiter - Fatties Trailer
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Kirk Lazarus - Hot LZ
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head - Hot LZ
Jack Black	...	Jeff Portnoy - Hot LZ
Jay Baruchel	...	Kevin Sandusky - Hot LZ
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Alpa Chino - Hot LZ
Ben Stiller	...	Tugg Speedman - Hot LZ
Eric Winzenried	...	Chopper Pilot - Hot LZ
Steve Coogan	...	Damien Cockburn - Vietnam Crew
Valerie Azlynn	...	Damien's Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Matt Levin	...	Cameraperson - Vietnam Crew
David Pressman	...	First Assistant Director - Vietnam Crew
Amy Stiller	...	Script Supervisor - Vietnam Crew
Danny McBride	...	Cody - Vietnam Crew
Dempsey Silva	...	Special Effects Assistant - Vietnam Crew

Storyline

Action movie star Tugg Speedman is on the downslide of his professional career. He wants to be considered a serious actor, but his latest serious role as the title character in "Simple Jack" resulted in negative reviews and ridicule. Comedian Jeff Portnoy is best known for his leading roles in sophomoric comedies, and may be less well known for his rampant drug use. Five time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus is a serious method actor, who immerses himself in whatever the role. On location in southeast Vietnam, they are the stars of "Tropic Thunder", based on Vietnam war veteran 'Four Leaf' Tayback's memoirs of his rescue during the war, that rescue which was considered a near suicide mission for the assigned army force and resulted in him losing both hands. For his role, Caucasian Australian Lazarus even went through a controversial surgical skin dying procedure so that he could convincingly play a black man. Production is not going well since rookie director Damien Cockburn is unable to ...

---

Plot Keywords:

parody | film within a film | vietnam | film director | comic violence | 

---

Taglines:

Get Some

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks / Paramount [France] DreamWorks [United States]

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tropic Thunder

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$92,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,812,796, 17 August 2008

Gross USA:

$110,515,313

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$195,702,811

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Red Hour Films, Goldcrest Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 121 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dale Dye acted as a military advisor on this film, as he had done on Platoon (1986), one of the movies spoofed in it. Ben Stiller asked Dye beforehand if he didn't have reservations about working on a film that effectively satirizes his livelihood. This amused Dye, who told Stiller that despite his serious reputation, he is a broad lover of comedy, and has no problems with veterans being made fun of, as most of them will actually resort to dark comedy in tense situations. As such, Dye relished the opportunity to work on a comedy, as long as it wouldn't portray military people doing things that they would never do under any circumstance.

---

Goofs

When they are distracting the rebels with Jeff, Alpa and Sandusky are treading through the water holding up their guns. A close up shows a normal shot of the guns, but from far away Sandusky's gun still has a plug on it.

---

Quotes

Kirk Lazarus: [to Tugg] We're tired of being your trail donkeys! Wandering around the jungle like you some kinda one man GPS! We lost man! We fucking lost!
Kirk Lazarus: [to Kevin] Tell him McKlutsky! Tell him what time it is!

---

Crazy Credits

Tom Cruise (as Les) dances and the end credits start. Scenes from the movie are mixed in.

---

Alternate Versions

There is a director's extended cut which is available on the 3-disc special edition in the UK which contains more footage - runtime of overall film is 116 minutes on back of DVD case.

---

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.19 (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Run Through the Jungle
Written by John Fogerty
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Best comedy in years.

I just got out of a midnight showing and I was absolutely blown away. I fully expect this to be a mediocre movie at best, but it surprised me in all aspects. It was well directed, acted, the action scenes were actually very well done and pretty epic, and most of all it was hilarious. I doubt I stopped laughing for more than a minute or two. I don't want to give anything away so I will keep it brief, but do yourself a favor and see this in theaters with friends.

PS. As a black man, I did not find Robert Downey Jr.'s character offensive at all. He was probably the most hilarious character in the movie.