'Tropic Thunder' full of fun surprises, strong performances
Tom Cruise's cameo in "Tropic Thunder" was supposed to be a surprise.
There's good reason why word leaked out early - he is absolutely hilarious in his small role as the obnoxious movie executive. He practically steals the show.
Who knew Tom Cruise could be so funny? And in a Ben Stiller movie, of all places?
The rest of "Tropic Thunder" is funny, too. A great script and strong performances from an all-star cast allow this comedy/action-adventure/war movie spoof to rise above the typical Ben Stiller film.
The movie is about the filming of a big-budget Vietnam war movie with a cast of spoiled and moronic stars. It's sort of "Apocolypse Now" meets "Zoolander."
The laughs begin immediately with three fake trailers, followed by an opening war battle filled with explosions and over-the-top, gross-out images.
The story then centers on five actors: clueless Tugg Speedman (writer/director Ben Stiller), spazzy Jeff "Fats" Portnoy (Jack Black), geeky Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), dramatic Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and bitter Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson).
The actors, all playing the roles of soldiers, are flown into the middle of the Vietnamese jungle because the director wants to capture their best acting. The director accidentally dies, and the film company loses track of them, but these five doofs still think they're being filmed. Actually, they're fighting real members of an Asian drug cartel.
Soon, the actors realize that they're on their own, and in order to survive, they're going to have to be real soldiers and not Hollywood brats.
Downey Jr. is fabulous as Lazarus, an Australian actor who is cast as a black soldier. (Think about that: he's an actor, playing an actor, playing a black man).
The makeup makes him look black, yes. But he nails the voice perfectly and does the passionate in-the-heat-of battle speeches with perfectly executed comedic style.
"Tropic Thunder" is not a movie for young teens, or arguably, older teens, mostly because of the graphic swearing and gory scenes (they're meant to be funny, but they're still a little disturbing). Besides, the many references to old movies will probably go right over teenagers' heads.
Adults, though, and especially Ben Stiller fans, won't leave "Tropic Thunder" disappointed.
Spoiler alert ...
More than a dozen big-name stars have small roles - Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte, Toby McGuire and Mickey Rooney, to name a few - and it's fun to see them pop up unexpectedly on screen.
The weakest part of the movie is the end, where Stiller's character gets too over-the-top and the final shoot-out and rescue scenes run long.
But don't leave before the credits, because that is Tom Cruise's shining moment.
'Tropic Thunder'
Rating: 3 stars
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Other: A Dreamworks SKG release. Rated R (pervasive language, sexual references, violent content and drug material. Running time 107 minutes.