‘Tropic Thunder’: Mission not accomplished

[2 Comment(s)]

By Jonathan Specht

Grade: C+

Is it too soon to make a comedy about the Vietnam War? Perhaps, which is why “Tropic Thunder” isn’t a comedy about Vietnam, but rather a comedy about movies about Vietnam.

The premise is simple: a group of prima donna actors from various genres are filming “the greatest war movie of all time” in the jungles of Vietnam. Thanks to their prissiness and general unwillingness to cooperate with their director, the film is behind schedule and over-budget.

The director decides to shake things up by dropping them off in the jungle, handing them a script, and filming their reactions with hidden cameras. Things go awry when the director is hit by a land mine and a group of heroin runners encounter the actors and mistake them for US federal agents.

It’s a decent premise, I suppose. But either the film’s actors don’t perform, or they simply weren’t given much to work with. Brandon Jackson is adequate as rapper Alpa Chino, who is obviously based on Nelly. Jack Black’s performance left one question burning in my mind: why is Jack Black still acting? Stiller’s performance as Tugg Speedman is wooden and uninspired. This is no “Zoolander.” Given that Stiller co-wrote and directed the film, I wondered why he didn’t give himself better lines.

Stiller’s depiction of “Simple Jack,” a mentally disabled character from a previous film, has been the center of controversy. The film is also borderline-disrespectful of Vietnam veterans. I’m not opposed to controversial humor, especially when it’s actually funny: I saw “Borat” in the theater three times.

I’m not a fan of political correctness, because it tends to create backlashes that prevent, rather than advance, the goal of respect across barriers. That being said, my problem with the film’s “Simple Jack” scenes is not their irreverence, but the fact that they simply aren’t that funny. When a Southern gentleman told Borat he was retired and Borat responded, “You are retard?” it was a moment of cinematic gold. When Stiller does his Simple Jack shtick, you’ll be inclined to yawn and check your watch (or cell phone) to see how long it could possibly be continuing.

Even more controversial was the decision to have a white actor (Robert Downey Jr.) play a black character in “blackface,” or, rather, to have a white actor play a white actor playing a black character, since this is a movie about making a movie.

Controversial or not, I appreciate Downey Junior’s performance as the only consistently good one in the film. Downey Junior, who continues his redemption from the abyss of drug addiction with each successful role, is perfect as Kirk Lazarus, a serious Australian actor who underwent a “race change” to play a black soldier. Ninety five percent of the times I actually laughed during the film, it was because of Downey Jr. Without him, I probably would have given it a grade of C- or D+.

“Tropic Thunder” flounders in its plot twists. Its various action scenes do little, if anything, to advance the film’s attempts at humor, which is a pretty sad statement for an alleged comedy. The bottom line is that the film simply isn’t that great. Don’t spend $7. Wait for the DVD.

Originally Published: Issue 701 - August 19, 2008

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