Who is the Audience for This Movie?

People who like comedies that make fun of big budget Hollywood movies.

What I Liked About This Movie

Opening with fake trailers and advertisements was an odd move but all three trailers are absolutely hilarious. They even add some character development to the three popular “actors” (Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, & Ben Stiller). The movies opening action sequence then leads into the humor nicely, starting Tropic Thunder off on a high note.

Stiller is solid as usual, Jack Black is in the movie (more on that below), and Robert Downey Jr clearly outshines both of them. His impression of an African American man, while offensive, delivers quite a few laughs. But that is not the best thing about his performance. My favorite part of his acting in this movie is his quick changes between his “fake” Australian accent and his African American voice because neither is close to actual voice which is fairly impressive feat. It was obvious he was having fun with the role.

Tom cruise also appears in a role that would have been the best part of the movie if not for Downey. To top off the great opening and fantastic performances they added a big Hollywood action movie ending that is a ridiculously awesome. They even manage to add in a nice twist after all the explosions are over.

What Didn’t Work For Me

Jack Black is an actor that I normally find funny only half the time. That feeling has now been confirmed once again for me with his performance on display in Tropic Thunder. First half of the movie I did not find him very funny, easily making him the low point of the movies comedy.

The other thing that I found dragged the movie down was its middle section. It felt like it lost its way somewhere in the script and they just needed to jam a few scenes in so the movie could make it to the end.

Should You Watch This Movie?

I liked it.

My Rating (Out of 13)