Key quote regarding the protests:
Stiller, who co-wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, is already getting a lot of flak for his depiction of Tugg Speedman's failed Oscar bid in the film Simple Jack. Stiller is clearly taking aim at Sean Penn's awful portrayal of a mentally handicapped man in I Am Sam, where he went, as Downey's character proclaims, "full retard." I was pissed off to discover that the Simple Jack Web site, part of the film's promotional campaign, was taken down as some sort of concession to a threatened national boycott of the movie by mental-health-advocacy groups.Whole review:
The fact is, the likes of I Am Sam and Radio deserve to be spanked for what they are: cheap, exploitative attempts by actors to reap awards for portraying the mentally handicapped. Tropic Thunder clearly has contempt for these acting efforts, and is not making fun of the mentally handicapped. It's actually scary how much Simple Jack resembles the Penn and Cuba Gooding Jr. characters from those movies.
Cinematic SlaughterGreat review.'Tropic Thunder' delightfully features big stars giving the middle finger to their Hollywood bosses
By BOB GRIMM
If you think Ben Stiller has become a little too family-friendly in recent years, and The Heartbreak Kid didn't convince you that he has more adult, twisted aspirations, get a load of Tropic Thunder.
Tropic Thunder. Directed by Ben Stiller. Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. Rating: R. Genre: Action, Comedy.
Stiller goes nuts in this gigantic, gory, nasty, hilarious movie that puts him back on top as both a comedic director and actor. It's his best work in the director's chair since The Cable Guy 12 years ago, a sick and funny showcase for the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and a spectacularly obscene Tom Cruise.
Frustrated director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) is filming an overseas, big-budget Vietnam War movie deep in the jungle with a cast of "prima donnas." Among the group are action star Tugg Speedman (Stiller), coming off a series of bombs; award-winning method actor Kirk Lazarus (Downey), who had himself surgically altered in order to portray an African American; and Jeff Portnoy (Black), who has made a name for himself by farting like mad in movies.
The deranged author of the film (Nick Nolte) suggests the director drop his cast into a real war-like situation, rigging explosives and hidden cameras to catch some scared-actor spontaneity. Things go awry when the production sets up shop near a drug cartel, and the actors find themselves on a true rescue mission.
The film takes merciless stabs at all forms of war-film clichés, racial stereotyping, the portrayal of mentally handicapped people by Hollywood stars, junkies and more. It is, perhaps, the most politically incorrect film featuring big Hollywood actors in many years, and God bless its big, sick heart.
Stiller, who co-wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, is already getting a lot of flak for his depiction of Tugg Speedman's failed Oscar bid in the film Simple Jack. Stiller is clearly taking aim at Sean Penn's awful portrayal of a mentally handicapped man in I Am Sam, where he went, as Downey's character proclaims, "full retard." I was pissed off to discover that the Simple Jack Web site, part of the film's promotional campaign, was taken down as some sort of concession to a threatened national boycott of the movie by mental-health-advocacy groups.
The fact is, the likes of I Am Sam and Radio deserve to be spanked for what they are: cheap, exploitative attempts by actors to reap awards for portraying the mentally handicapped. Tropic Thunder clearly has contempt for these acting efforts, and is not making fun of the mentally handicapped. It's actually scary how much Simple Jack resembles the Penn and Cuba Gooding Jr. characters from those movies. It's like they got together and had a son ... a very toothy son.
Downey disappears into the role of Lazarus, a scathing testament to actors losing themselves in their parts. He's so good, you'll forget he's Robert Downey Jr. The presence of African-American Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), who is constantly slamming Lazarus for his deplorable role choice, works as a constant reminder that sometimes, method acting can go too far.
Black has what is perhaps the most brutal role of his career as a man who runs out of heroin while deep in the jungle (the remainder of his stash is stolen by a bat). When he's tied to a tree going through withdrawal, the film soars to new, gross heights. On top of all this, there's the visual wonderment of Tom Cruise buried under makeup as a foul-mouthed studio boss. It's the funniest thing Cruise has ever done.
So what we get with Tropic Thunder is some of the industry's biggest stars giving a playful middle finger to their bosses and peers. It's not so much a case of biting the hand that feeds them, because it's really the fans who buy their movies, and they are spared in the assault. We just get to laugh our asses off while everybody else gets cinematically slaughtered.
Just watched Stiller on Charlie Rose and thought he was a lot more intelligent and thoughtful than I would have guessed from having seen a couple of his films.
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