Tropic Thunder (2008)

Tropic Thunder (2008)

6/10

Starring

Ben Stiller

Jack Black

Robert Downey Jr.

Steve Coogan

Jay Baruchel

Directed by Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller did something wonderful in 2008 with the hilarious comedy Tropic Thunder. The movie is set in the world of actors, where three top stars are shooting a Vietnam War movie when everything goes wrong. Ben Stiller wrote, directed, and starred in the film alongside Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.

The movie received a lot of praise, with Robert Downey Jr. earning particular acclaim for his role. His makeup was also incredible—you need to see it just to appreciate how they transformed him into a black man.

The plot revolves around a Vietnam War veteran’s memoir titled Tropic Thunder, which is being adapted into a movie. The problem is the cast: we have a fading action star named Tugg (Ben Stiller), a five-time Academy Award-winning actor named Kirk (Robert Downey Jr.), and a drug-addicted comedian named Jeff (Jack Black) in the lead roles. Also on set are an up-and-coming actor and a rapper. Their clashing personalities make it impossible for the inexperienced director to control the chaos on set, causing the production to lose millions and fall months behind schedule.

When the director gets a call from the studio executive warning him to get the set under control or the movie will be canceled, he seeks advice from the memoir’s author. The author suggests dropping the actors in the middle of the jungle with hidden cameras and special effects set up along their path. The actors are told to improvise and act along with the scenes.

Things take a wild turn when the director accidentally drops them in the Golden Triangle, home to a heroin-producing gang. It gets worse when the director is killed by an old land mine. Kirk senses something is wrong, but Tugg believes it’s all part of the act and insists they play along. The situation escalates when Tugg is kidnapped by the gang running the jungle, and it becomes clear that the memoir’s author hasn’t been entirely truthful about his story.

Now, the remaining actors must find a way to rescue Tugg.

While the movie wasn’t a huge financial success, it’s a fantastic film to watch and enjoy when you have the time. For me, it stands as one of Robert Downey Jr.’s best performances on screen.

It is sad that such movies as this cannot be made any more, the political climate and the way everyone takes offense these days, Downey in black face will be the end of his career.