The next movie I will review is "Tropic Thunder" This movie is as funny as the previews make it seem, I laughed from the opening credits until the very end. Despite my somewhat indifference, bordering on dislike, of Ben Stiller and most of what he does, Tropic Thunder has been on my much-anticipated list for some time now. The audacity of what he was attempting, spoofing the industry that was giving him the money to do so, blatantly and lovingly, was too great to ignore. And then there is the cast of stars with cameo after cameo of surprise faces joining in on the fun, but when you get down to it, the entertainment value is off the charts, the one-liners are going to be quoted for years to come, and the laughs come often and hard. Something about movies within movies intrigue the heck out of me, and this one having actors within actors just played up my interest more. There was truly no better way to start this movie then how was done: the playing of Alpa Chino's rap music, a consumerism selling commercial and trailers for our three leads' previous films. The first trailer shows action star Tugg Speedman's (Ben Stiller) latest film, 'Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown', a film so repetitive of it's five predecessors that even the trailer narrator sounds shaky about it. Another trailer features funnyman Jeff "Fatty" Portnoy (Jack Black), playing the entirety of "America's favorite obese family" in the highly flautlent 'The Fatties: Fart 2'. The final trailer, entitled 'Satan's Alley', features Australian "five-time Oscar winner" Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and Tobey Maguire as two monks who begin an empassioned affair. What better way to be introduced to our action star, our funnyman, and our award winning thespian? Knowing full well the extent of satire going on, each spot delivers, giving a little background into the work these men have done in the past. Directly connecting with the subsequent shot, a live scene from the film at hand, the egos finally come out and show face. Jack Black's Jeff Portney reins in his comedian schtick to portray a hardened solider, voice rasping as he shows his serious side; Stiller's Tugg Speedman attempts to revive the action cred he tried to leave behind with his Oscar-bait turn as a mentally handicapped man in Simple Jack, where he went "full retarded, no one ever comes back from that"; and Robert Downey Jr.'s Kirk Lazarus, Australian genius at his craft, playing a black man like he was born one. The scenes continues without a hitch, explosions everywhere, screams heard in the distance, and a heartfelt death about to be delivered, until the men show their true colors. Tugg can't make himself cry, (he's just not that good), and Kirk's blubbering and drooling is just so real that the two must partake in a pissing match, while effects guru Cody, (Danny McBride), let's loose the one-take only scorched earth fire storm. It's all falling apart when the script-writer/former soldier Four Leaf, (Nick Nolte), gets the director, (Steve Coogan) with one of the best film exits I've ever seen, to agree on guerrilla filming, deep in the jungle of foreign lands. Speedman, Lazarus, Chino, Portnoy and Sandusky are dropped off with Cockburn in the middle of the jungle who sternly explains that he's going to use hidden cameras to capture real fear as they survive the real jungle. The actors are only given a map and a scene listing to guide them to the helicopter waiting at the end of the jungle. Here is where the fun begins and where the movie inside the movie becomes real, or, in effect, the actual movie—kind of like "the dude playing the dude, disguised as another dude". Unbeknownst to the actors, they were dropped in the middle of the Golden Triangle, the home of the heroin-producing Flaming Dragon gang. The Dragons believe the actors to be DEA agents and are put off to see Speedman, trying to convince the others that Cockburn's exit is a trick, Believing the Dragons to be actors playing Vietcong, the actors engage them in a gunfight (though the actors only have blank rounds). Tayback and Cody, waiting on a nearby ridge are unaware of the real dangers below, blow a large explosive that causes the Dragons to retreat. After the "fight scene", the actors continue into the jungle to continue the "shoot". As the actors continue their rigorous trek through the jungle, it is revealed that Portnoy is a heroin addict, a drug which he disguises from the others as candy. Speedman's sanity seems to be slipping as he continues to act scenes from the film and even, much to his own distress, kills a Giant Panda one night. Speedman is soon captured by the Dragons and taken back to their camp. When he is tormented by the gang's prepubescent leader, Speedman stutters and is soon recognized as the star of 'Simple Jack'. This turns out to be the only film the Dragons have seen and they are in awe. They force Speedman to perform the film many times a day. Speedman even gets a young hanger-on, a "son" of sorts. The Dragons call Peck, Speedman's agent, and explain that they are holding Speedman ransom. Peck brings this to Les Grossman, who rabidly curses at the Dragon on the other end of the line. He later tells Peck that they can benefit more by collecting the insurance claim on Speedman's death, offering the torn agent a share of the profits. Meanwhile, among the actors, tension grows between Lazarus and Chino. Portnoy has begun to hallucinate due to his withdrawal, and has to be tied to a water buffalo and then, at his own insistance, a concrete column. Soon, Portnoy is pleading with others to untie him. During a conversation about women "back home", Sandusky expresses envy of Lazarus having dated Jennifer Love Hewitt. In the course of the conversation, Chino is revealed to be a closet homosexual, he is in love with someone named "Lance". They soon stumble upon the Flaming Dragon's heroin factory. After seeing Speedman being tortured, they plan an ambush based on the film's plot line, Lazarus impersonates a farmer who has caught Portnoy, again tied to his water buffalo, on his farm, distracting the armed guards as Chino and Sandusky sneak into the building the captives are held in. After the gang notices inconsistencies in Lazarus' story, the actors open fire on the gang, temporarily subduing them despite being armed with only special effects blanks. Portnoy kidnaps the gang's child leader from the fray in order to be led to the drugs. After barely defeating the young crime lord in combat, he finds an enormous mound of heroin; however, reflecting upon his failing low-brow movie career, he rejects the heroin and uses it instead to knock out two guards. Tayback and Cody join the fighting, using Cody's flamethrower and explosives against the Dragons. However, Portnoy, Chino, and Lazarus find Speedman brainwashed. After he's been performing to an approving crowd several times a day, he now believes he is home. Before they can snap him out of it, Lazarus breaks down, revealing his similar inner-struggle with his own identity. With Chino and Sandusky's help, Lazarus drops the Sgt. Osiris character, in both make-up and accent, and becomes his Australian self. However, even Sandusky's inspiring words cannot break Speedman's trance and they have to drag him away as they attempt to escape in Cody and Tayback's recaptured helicopter. The Dragons quickly regroup, chasing the actors across a bridge which is rigged to detonate by Cody. Speedman asks to remain behind with his "family", but quickly returns with his "son" stabbing him in the neck and the murderous Dragons in pursuit. Tayback detonates the bridge just in time for Speedman to get across. Lazarus goes to rescue Speedman from the rubble. They swear each other's friendship and Speedman is finally able to cry. The levels at play here are just too many to mention. Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) shines as the only non-celebrity involved, the guy who went to boot camp, read the novel and the script, and idolizes the men he is working with, the back and forth between Downey Jr. and Brandon T. Jackson's Alpa never gets old. The whole dynamic of real black man versus fake was unceasingly funny. Downey Jr stole every scene that he was in, but what really was an absolutely brilliant cameo was Tom Cruise. His studio executive, was pompously crass, loud-mouth and arrogant. A documentary of the botched production is made from the hidden camera footage, and results in a multiple Academy Award-winning blockbuster film. The film breaks Speedman's streak of flops and he wins the award for Best Actor, presented by his friend Lazarus. Along with Portnoy, Sandusky is present with Jennifer Love Hewitt on his arm and Chino is present with his Lance. I give Tropic Thunder a 4 and on my avoidance scale a huge 0. GO see this movie.
