Great news for Kaua'i - not so good for me (Tropic Thunder (DVD))

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Tropic Thunder (DVD)
Date:	11/10/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It wasn't so bad that it made me switch it off completely

Disadvantages: Not at all funny

Tropic Thunder was filmed in 2007 on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, and funnelled more than $60 million to the local economy as a result.

Sadly, this is really the only positive thing at all that I can say about this film.

The trouble with openly disliking Tropic Thunder is that you lay yourself open to accusations of being humourless, of being too PC... of really taking yourself too seriously. But the fact remains - it is a long way from being a good film. Apart from the mumbling dialogue, the lacklustre script, the lack of any continuity in the action, and the really poor acting - my main issues with the film were about taste. Ben Stiller directed and wrote a film that was intended to be a satire on commercial cinema's misappropriation of black experience and patronising attitude to people with learning disabilities. This satire was lost on a large section of the US population, as disability rights protesters picketed the opening of the film over the repeated use of the word 'retard' and the negative depiction of a character with a learning disability.

The plot centres around a group of actors who have all seen better days, and who are taking part in a film which re-creates the heroic story of Vietman war veteran John "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte). The five actors, led by Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) are dropped in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle by incompetent director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) to indulge in some method acting as they are abandoned to face special effects and simulated dangers on their own, with only secret hidden cameras to witness their progress. Naturally enough, when the group of actors bump into the dangerous drug producing Flaming Dragon gang, they mistake them for fellow actors, with 'hilarious' results.

The combination of this promising storyline and a rake of famous actors should have been a recipe for success. Unfortunately the whole film lacks the essential subtlety and talent from both script writer and director to carry off the satirical element of the film. Each actor represents a certain Hollywood stereotype: Tugg Speedman is the macho actor with bulging muscles, whose career has taken a downturn after his poor interpretation of Simple Jack, a man with learning difficulties, in his last film. The audience sees many flashbacks to this role, where the 'retard' is portrayed as a stammering goon, with sticking out teeth and mop-like hair. Tugg makes it very clear that he had to work hard to play the role of a 'retard' and reiterates time after time that he had to believe that he was 'dumb, an imbecile, a moron, and stupid'.

Jeff Portnoy represents the overweight comic actor, who relies solely on loud farting to get the laughs. Jack Black's portrayal of this character seems to rely solely on using falsetto shrieks and blundering around in a pair of white underpants. The assumption that this feminised performance is an indication of his sexual preferences is confirmed as he rather graphically offers to perform oral sex on one of the other actors, despite that actor's protestations that he 'just likes pussy'.

Kirk Lazarus is perhaps the most difficult role to accept- he plays the blond Australian who feels the need to undergo a surgical skin blackening operation to play the role of Sergeant Osiris. This, together with his black curly wig and mumbling jivetalk could have been the death knell of the whole film and was a huge risk to take. Surprisingly though, it is the one bit of satirical comedy that hits the mark - Robert Downey's pastiche of every black stereotype making it clear that the role is very much tongue in cheek. One of the very few moments of real comedy come from this role, and the outrage of the genuinely black actor who recoils in indignation every time Lazarus identifies himself as a 'brother'.

Politics apart, the fact remains that this film just isn't funny enough. Jack Black fails to raise a laugh and is just plain irritating; Ben Stiller plays the role with his usual wide eyes and goofy expression, and although this has been used to excellent comic effect in previous films it just doesn't do the job in this film. At times it seems that the film picks up pace, and you can ignore the silliness and poor performances, but then everything slows down and the main flow of action lost in sub plots and diversions - and you have the time to stop and wonder why you are still sitting in front of a film that is undeniably confusing and dull.

Tropic Thunder is rated a 15. The very first scenes contain some very gory violence which includes spilling entrails and spurting blood. Although this is intended to be a very funny scene, I think it would upset many younger people.

Summary: Give it a miss