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 & 43 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

parody | vietnam | film director | spoof | written and directed by cast member | 

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Taglines:

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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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:

Una guerra de película

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$92,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,812,796, 17 August 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$110,515,313

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$188,072,649

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks,Red Hour Films,Goldcrest Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 121 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several disability advocacy groups criticized the "Simple Jack" subplot, a movie-within-a-movie in which Ben Stiller's character portrays a mentally disabled man. The film includes clips of the fictitious movie and re-enactments by Stiller. Scenes between Robert Downey, Jr. and Stiller drew particular scorn for their repeated use of the word "retard". Producers took down a "Simple Jack" website and proposed altering the movie in response to a special early screening for the disability groups in question, but they did not change the film. According to co-Writer Etan Cohen, the scenes were meant to satirize emotionally exploitative depictions of mental disability in movies such as Rain Man (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), I Am Sam (2001), and Radio (2003), as well as the actors who take these roles.

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Goofs

When Lazarus is talking to Tugg about 'Simple Jack' he claims that an actor should never go "full retard" and mentions Peter Sellers (Being There), Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man), Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), and Sean Penn (I Am Sam) as examples. He claims that Sean Penn is the only one of those to go "full retard" and come away without an Oscar after being nominated. However, Peter Sellers did not win an Oscar either. He received a Golden Globe award, while the Best Actor Oscar went to Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer. (This is rectified in the Director's Cut DVD, where the line about Sellers is removed.)

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Quotes

Jeff Portnoy: Hey, Radar. Elvins.
Kevin Sandusky: It's Kevin.
Jeff Portnoy: Kev - whatever the fuck, come over here. I didn't tell you, but Fatties Fart 3 is coming down the pike and there's a role in there for you if you come over and untie me.
Kevin Sandusky: Jeff, you're just going to have to tough it out.
Jeff Portnoy: Your mother's a cankerous whore!
Kevin Sandusky: Jesus, man!
Jeff Portnoy: Hey, man, remember way back when I said your mother was a cankerous whore? I'm sorry, man. I did not mean that. She's not.

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Crazy Credits

Movie begins with advertisement and fake trailers where the "actors" appear.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

The Name Of The Game (The Crystal Method's Big Ass T.T. Mix)
Written by Ken Jordan, Scott Kirkland & Tom Morello
Performed by The Crystal Method
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Sharp Satire

'Tropic Thunder' is the sharpest, nastiest, and most honest parody of Hollywood since Altman's 'The Player'.

If Doweny Jr. in black face, the script's use of "retard", or the politically incorrect humor offends you, you're missing the point.

Only Russel Crowe, Robin Williams, and Harvey Weinstein should take offense. The parodies of their personalities, their films, and their business tactics are downright cruel. (But, so, so true, and so brilliant.) I must credit every actor -- particularly Downey Jr. and Cruise -- for their performances, and for making their characters more than stereotypes for cheap laughs.

The more you know about Hollywood, the more you will appreciate the film. If not, just go and laugh at the genre. It takes balls to leave in a scene discussing how Blue-Ray conquered HD-DVD (and expect anyone to fine it funny). But it is funny.

To utterly relish the insanity, brush up on 'Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'.

They got it so right. So, so, so right.