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What's Still Great
The Funniest Movie Since Ferris Bueller
Tropic Thunder is hysterically funny, in fact, and devastatingly insightful about Hollywood.
Continuing with my series about what’s good in modern life….About two months ago, I watched a DVD a kindly publicist had sent me of a 2008 movie called “Tropic Thunder, Director’s Cut.” I knew nothing about it at all, except that it was something to do with the Vietnam War. From the first instant, it was hysterically funny, wildly politically incorrect, and devastatingly insightful about how Hollywood works.
The story is basically that a British director and his foul-mouthed bullying studio boss are trying to make a Vietnam war movie, loosely patterned after various Rambo movies. The stars are a group of “famous” actors — Brandon Jackson, who plays a hip-hop star making his acting debut, with the insanely brilliant name of Alpa Chino; Robert Downey, Jr., in blackface, playing a veteran Army sergeant; also extremely foul-mouthed; Jack Black, playing a flatulent comedy star, also very dirty mouthed; and the main star, Ben Stiller, a Sly Stallone look-alike, who thinks he is calling the shots in the movie but really isn’t. Then there are Nick Nolte, a bogus Vietnam vet-author, and a pyromaniac special effects and explosives co-coordinator played perfectly by Danny McBride.
Now, I will cut right to the chase and say that Tropic Thunder may well be the funniest movie since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It is subtle, insightful, unpredictable, and filled with action. The first twenty minutes or so in particular are so packed with action and genius that they may well be as good as the first twenty minutes of any comedy ever. There never has been a better comedy script than the one given us by Ben Stiller, Etan Cohen and Justin Theroux. It is a truly a work of staggering brilliance.
To get back to the acting, the role played by Matthew McConaughey as Ben Stiller’s agent is brilliantly done, done with such extraordinary intelligence that it baffles me how anyone could get it down so well. Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live who plays the studio boss’s flunky is simply unparalleled in his role as perfect ass kisser and yes man. Steve Coogan makes the most expressive faces I have ever seen in a comedy, especially in an unimaginably funny scene between him and Nick Nolte, who plays his role as well as any role he has played since Who’ll Stop The Rain.
Jay Baruchel, a young Canadian who plays a novice actor in the group, belittled by the others until they need him, is fantastically good. (He is about to become a BIG comedy star.)
The Asian “villains,” actually a lot less horrible than the Hollywood people, led by a young kid named Brandon Soo-Hoo and his top deputy, Reggie Lee, are just a scream.
Even smaller parts such as an unidentified blonde girl who plays Steve Coogan’s assistant and makes hilarious faces and a man who plays the key grip magnificently, and go-go dancer named Becca Sweitzer, who sets a perfect tone for the beginning of the movie, are deeply memorable. Christine Taylor, Stiller’s real life wife and a raving beauty, has a jewel of a cameo.
But the movie is simply stolen by Tom Cruise. He plays Les Grossman, horribly bullying studio head, with as dirty a mouth as anyone in history. In every scene where he appears — and his makeup and hair people, Michele Burke and Barney Burman, should get fifty Oscars — he blows the roof right off of the room.
Now, I knew he was a great actor since he appeared in Taps years ago, decades ago. And I knew he had gotten better over the years from his amazing turn in Valkyrie. But his performance in Tropic Thunder and what he evokes about Hollywood, about fear, about the romance of the movie business, about loneliness at the top — these are simply off the map. There never has been a better comedy acting job than what Mr. Cruise does in this movie. Plus, he turns out to be an amazing dancer.
The direction and camera work are super fine, too. Just the way the camera picks up men and women in a conference room shows amazing insight about human interaction. The way the camera shows a helicopter taking off shows an understanding of the allure of flight that is so far beyond what even explicit outer space movies show it’s mind boggling. Credit John Toll, the D.P.
The soundtrack is not for the faint of heart. It has a lot of dirty words and it’s not for children. But it has some of my very favorite '70s songs, especially “Ball of Confusion” by the Temptations. I have bought at least ten of the soundtracks and play them constantly. Kudos to Theodore Shapiro, the music director.
The movie has so many great scenes it is impossible to know where to start. But the scene where the blackfaced Downey and Alpa Chino get into a fight ended with Downey’s solemn recital of the theme song from the Jeffersons is a classic. So, are the fake preview with Downey and the fake previews with Jackson and Black. Again, these have a ton of foul language. If this bothers you, stay away. If you can tolerate endless use of the F-bomb, it is a wonderful way to escape the dim mood of the nation and get happy.
This movie is the new gold standard for comedy. Ben Stiller should have gotten an Oscar for the direction. The writers, director of photography, soundtrack supervisor, makeup and hair people, the set designers — above all, again, Tom Cruise — should have gotten Oscars. This movie is a shining gem. It shows that creativity in Hollywood is still very much alive. I always liked Ben Stiller, writer, star, producer. Now I love him. And to my old pal Stuart Cornfeld, the other producer, bravo, bravo, bravissimo! And make sure you get the Director’s Cut.
About the Author
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (68) | Leave a comment
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JAWilson| 3.25.09 @ 6:56AM
TomCruise as brilliant actor? Can someone text me the subtext?
Mike Barbour| 3.25.09 @ 7:35AM
Ben, I have the utmost respect for you but I am disappointed that you think Tropic Thunder was a good movie. My wife and I thought that it was the worst movie we've seen since the Unforgiven. I guess being a Vietnam Veteran I don't find a lot of humor in anything Vietnam.
Pingback| 3.25.09 @ 7:36AM
The American Spectator : The Funniest Movie Since Ferris Bueller | Acting Job In New links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Freya| 3.25.09 @ 7:59AM
Mike Barbour,
That's interesting, because I despise Ben Stein, but I completely agree with him that Tropic Thunder was hilarious. Although, I do grant that it's certainly not for everyone, as it has a lot of dark humor.
Pingback| 3.25.09 @ 8:00AM
The American Spectator : The Funniest bMovie/b Since Ferris Bueller | Danielc blog links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Dave| 3.25.09 @ 8:25AM
Haven't seen the movie yet and look forward to doing so. But Tom Cruise was good in Valkryie? Ben, please put the bottle of thorazine down and step away. Just step away.
Tim| 3.25.09 @ 9:54AM
I skipped the initial release-but Mr. Stein has succeeded in attracting my interest.
With a wife and toddler, I know there is little chance for screening an F-bomb film anytime soon. I'll keep in the back of my mind. Thanks Mr. Stein.
Nittany| 3.25.09 @ 9:54AM
I'm not sure- only Ben can say- but I think his movie reviews are the "funniest" commentaries since Swift's modest proposal. I hope so.
Kevin| 3.25.09 @ 10:07AM
Worst movie I've seen in a long time! I wouldn't waste my money on it. Not funny at all.
Dustoff| 3.25.09 @ 10:21AM
Mike Barbour
______________
I'm a Vet 1972.
I thought the movies was damn funny. Granted their has been many movies out there that make us Nam vets like a bunch of killing crazies. But this movie was just plain funny.
Seeing Tom Cruise (who I don't like) was even a riot.
Truthteller| 3.25.09 @ 10:45AM
When I saw the movie in the theater, I was the only one laughing at the ridiculous trailers before the movie. I believe this was due to the aura of political correctness which prevented the audience from appreciating the over-the-top nature of the gags, lampooning "serious acting" and hip-hop within seconds of screentime. I laughed my b-lls off, but Jack Black is a rude and crude drug addict when he goes cold turkey.
L. Ross| 3.25.09 @ 11:09AM
First off, I love you, Mr. Stien. I can't tell you how impressed I was by you in the best game show in history "Win Ben Stien's Money".
Secondly, I cannot agree more that Tropic Thunder is an absolutely brilliant movie. Putting Robert Downey Jr. into blackface is one of the funniest, most unbelievably politically incorrect things I have ever seen. It's about time somebody stood up the the P.C. nazis and put them in their place with a brilliant move like that. I'm in the military, and quite frankly I talk just as trashy as anyone in the film, so that didn't bother me at all, but I would recommend this film to anyone with a good sense of humor and the ability to let the frequent profanity slide.
Finally, to all the posters doubting how great Tom Cruise is in this picture, you just gotta see it to believe it.
James Piper| 3.25.09 @ 11:30AM
DUSTOFF, I flew Dustoff in 1970, would like to e-mail you, swap stories, whatever. If you want, I am at "cessna170@earthlink.net. I went to Vietnam laast year with my Vietnamese ex wife, perhaps you would like to see some pics of Vietnam as it is today?
Sheryl| 3.25.09 @ 11:41AM
Sadly, I used to have enormous respect for Mr. Stein and what he had to say, even about trivialities such as movies--until I saw him on a Sunday morning news show saying that he "couldn't stop smiling" when he saw our new illustrious leader on tv. I wonder if he's stopped smiling yet--I know I have. I lost a lot of respect for Ben at that point. Interesting movie review, though.
Dustoff| 3.25.09 @ 12:14PM
James Piper
What unit?
Jim| 3.25.09 @ 12:15PM
Very funny movie. Some scenes have an unexpected humour that is so well done and with such perfection as to knock you off your seat. Rewind is a wonderful thing at times like these. Is that Tom Cruise?
jason| 3.25.09 @ 12:21PM
honestly, the amount of f-language + additional language in this movie made it hard for me to stomach; however, if you can take the language, I think it's a super-funny film. Haven't seen the director's cut but saw movie at theater when it was out. I felt dirty after the viewing but I can agree with Mr Stein about Cruise and his performance ... made me laugh so hard. Also, the intro to the movie - we thought it was real at first but all parody. Very funny, would have liked it to be less f-language ... and, I'm a big Stiller fan but less Cruise.
Katy | 3.25.09 @ 1:07PM
I totally agree, Ben! If only there had been a cameo by you! Then it would have been better than Ferris Bueller.
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I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not either. « The Unrepentant Geek links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Ron| 3.25.09 @ 2:25PM
A friend of mine thinks that Ben Stein’s review of “Tropic Thunder” is so over-the top that Stein must have been joking. I think he was serious. Anyone have any insight?
awesome| 3.25.09 @ 2:29PM
I totally agree. I laughed so hard, I hated when the movie ended. The writing is geinus. You need to see it more than once to absorb it all. Perhaps those not too familiar with Hollywood do not understand the insane humor, parody, and sarcasm in this movie.
Brad | 3.25.09 @ 2:32PM
Okay this has to be sarcasm...
"Steve Coogan makes the most expressive faces I have ever seen in a comedy".. really that over the top.
Ben Stein's Money, Thanks for the comical review of an atrocious flick!
Roderick Reilly| 3.25.09 @ 2:35PM
I don't think satire could be any more subtle than this "review."
I don't think Ben means any of it. Remember, what he finds over-the-top funny is Hollywood, not this movie.
Justin| 3.25.09 @ 2:36PM
For some reason, after reading this review I desire eating babies. Irish babies.
Bravo on capturing the excelence of this amazing brilliant movie in all of it's brilliant glory. It's brilliance was so brilliance I was blinded by it's brilliance and am currently using a computer for th blind.
Good day.
Shauna| 3.25.09 @ 2:45PM
Okay--the movie stinks.
But give the reviewer an Oscar! Funny stuff that.
Paul| 3.25.09 @ 2:45PM
Best. Review. Ever.
John| 3.25.09 @ 3:05PM
I don't think he's kidding. Too many times he points out bad language as a negative. If he had pretended it didn't exist in the movie or called it "amazing dialog" then I might be convinced otherwise.
John| 3.25.09 @ 3:16PM
I just like posing as John at 3:16
Paul| 3.25.09 @ 3:18PM
My wife and I saw this movie and we thought it was hilarious. We did not know that Tom Cruise was in the movie (not that we would have cared), he did such a good job we didn't realize it was him until about half way thru we finally recognized him. I thought that Robert Downey was at his absolute best. What appealed to my wife and me was the political incorrectness and the insight of what it is possibly like to work Hollywood. Ben Stiller is a comic genius as far as am concerned.
If I may misquote Hunter S. Thompson-“The movie(should be music) business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
George and Ringo| 3.25.09 @ 3:43PM
I just wanted to complete the band.
Anti-PC Infidel| 3.25.09 @ 4:07PM
>no wonder you guys were duped by "WMDs in Iraq."
Yes, duped by reality. What a concept!
Mary Ann Bosnos| 3.25.09 @ 4:08PM
Ben Stein’s praise of “Tropic Thunder” aside, I’m no longer able to watch Tom Cruise in anything.
Mr. Cruise shills for a cult that recruited my husband when he was a cancer patient with promises that they could “help.” Over the ensuing two years, as my husband was literally fighting for his life, the Church of Scientology tried to take every cent we had.
Ours is not an isolated story … far from it. Reports abound of people who - ensnared at a vulnerable moment and subjected to very sophisticated influence techniques - have lost everything to this so-called church.
And then there are the living & working conditions for Scientology staff, especially members of the fanatical “Sea Organization,” who sign billion-year contracts and work for pennies. Former Sea Organization members report widespread physical abuse, sleep deprivation, inadequate diet and housing, brutally long workdays, coerced abortions for female staff who become pregnant, humiliating “security checks,” forced separation from family, harsh punishments for perceived disloyalty or failure to meet production quotas, and constant, intense indoctrination. In short … just about what you’d expect from a mind-controlling cult.
That this organization managed to get tax-exempt religious status in the U.S. is a travesty … one that I hope will be rectified.
I’ve never shared Mr. Stein’s enthusiasm for Tom Cruise’s acting abilities. But even if I did, I would not see his films as long as he continues to front for Scientology.
justin| 3.25.09 @ 4:30PM
I can't decide if Ben Stien thinking hyperbole alone makes for good satire or if people's inability to detect the attempt is more depressing.
Bob| 3.25.09 @ 4:55PM
This is like the cop out by Obi-Wan when he told Luke "Everything is true from a certain perspective," or in another era, "You F...ed up Flounder, your trusted us."
I thought the flick was laugh-out-loud funny and therefore Ben affirms my opinion.
If I hated it, I'd be glad to believe that "That Old Ben Stein is really over the top with this one - I'll bet he hated it just like I did."
So the review worked either way for me.
It all depends on your point of view.
Pete Best| 3.25.09 @ 5:00PM
Hey, Justin: I think he's serious. And check your spelling.
"What's Still Great
Straight A's for AA
By Ben Stein on 3.19.09 @ 6:07AM
Herewith begins a little feature in which I talk about what's still great in America. "
Liberty or Death| 3.25.09 @ 7:53PM
Obama Rules, you are a dumb @$$.
I saw this movie in the theater and wasn't terribly impressed. Tom Cruise deffinitely had the funniest parts in the movie. His "G5" song and dance had me rolling in the seat. This movie is NOT as funny as "Ferris Bueller."
Liberty or Death| 3.25.09 @ 7:56PM
Definitely.
spl.
Mark Long| 3.25.09 @ 9:00PM
Although I usually agree with Ben Stein, I have to disagree with his assessment of Tropic Thunder. A couple caveats first: I always enjoy reading Stein's articles online or in print and I enjoyed his film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (and other films like Ferris Bueller). I should add that I usually do not find modern comic films to be funny since they tend to rely heavily in vulgarity, bathroom jokes, and sexual innuendo. It’s not that I’m a prude: I can tolerate such things—up to a point. After all, I thought Ferris Bueller and Lost Boys were among the best movies of the 1980s. But it seems to me that when a movie tends to rely on such things for most of its humor then it falls flat. That’s what I thought of Tropic Thunder.
Pingback| 3.25.09 @ 9:26PM
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Topics about Womens » Archive » The Funniest Movie Since Ferris Bueller links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Nelson H| 3.25.09 @ 10:02PM
I've been reading Ben Stein since "The View from Sunset Boulevard" and his first columns for TAS. Sometimes I wish he would stick to the things he really knows something about: economics, legal theory, sociopaths on Wall Street and in Hollywood, Heidi Fleiss. (Just kidding, Ben.) Here's my comment: Ben either RAVES or RANTS about just about everything. He never seems to have an in-between or nuanced opinion about anything be it airlines, hotels, customer service, movies, you name it. Here you have a movie that elicits some chuckles and he thinks everyone deserved Oscars and his only quibble is the profusion of f-bombs. You gotta love him, but his credibility about a lot of stuff seems compromised by this tendency to overpraise or overvilify.
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Topics about Airplanes » Archive » The Funniest Movie Since Ferris Bueller links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Robert Pinkerton| 3.26.09 @ 12:01AM
At risk of turning this thread off-topic, I concur with Nelson H, 25/03/09/2202. It is not, however, only Mr. Stein who shows this pattern; rather, it seems that many of our fellow Americans, not excluding myself, lack a zero-point on our emotional scales, liking to the point of love or disliking to the point of loathing or hatred, with minimal to nil middle-ground between the two - and minimal time spent in that middle-ground. (Where loathing wants only to be away from its object, hatred wants to do away with its object.) The biggest of many problems arising from this quirk of social character, is that that middle-ground, that zero-point on an emotional scale from minus ten-point-zero to plus ten-point-zero, the balance-point or fulcrum, is the ground on which our individual judgment resides. The emotions may propose, but the intellect must dispose: If each of us does not judge, others will judge for us, by means not excluding manipulation of cultivated (by indoctrination through the mainstream media) feelings to obtain as-if "reflexive" judgments from the electorate. We may, or we may not, like the results of that.
zombyboy | 3.26.09 @ 12:14AM
Okay, I'm not going to say it's the funniest things since FBDO, but it grabbed me from the fake trailers, kept me through Robert Downey Jr.'s hilarious blackface routine, and I didn't stop laughing until Cruise stopped dancing.
It wasn't the finest or most biting satire, but it was well worth my money at the theater--and I don't say that about too many films anymore.
Sam H| 3.26.09 @ 1:10AM
Obama rules:
Still can't get off the WMD kick can you? Never mind the tons of yellowcake uranium, mustard gas, dual-purpose equipment, scientific staff, declarations of future nefarious activity (on tape, mind you), etc...
One thing is for sure...Mr. Hussein for damn sure does not have WMD now.
Sleep well moron.
Dts3204| 3.26.09 @ 4:46AM
Ben,
I have to agree with Mike, this was without a doubt one of the worse movies I have seen in the past 20 years. I normally don't walk out of a movie, in this cast I didn't just deleted it. To bad I can't do the same to the images in my head. I thought the continuity sucked and having some play a fake viet nam veteran, where is the parody in that. Happened to many times. Only a now veteran would think that was funny Stolen Valor comes to mind. If I want to watch a funny movie or parody think I will stick with the three stooges. Damn can't even do that with Sean Penn and Jim Carrey starring? in a remake.
Alia| 3.26.09 @ 5:48AM
I agree with Mr. Stein - I laughed myself silly watching this film. Mil son brought this home to share with us, as he'd seen it and thought we'd enjoy it too. We did. And... NO WAY did I know it was Tom Cruise playing that part. He was brilliant. This film was so "not Hollywood". I haven't enjoyed a film in a few years. I laughed. Hollywood has seldom made me laugh in years. This film? I laughed a lot. Downey just about killed my son and me; he was so un-PC. This flick skirted numerous issues which the Left takes as a reason to be strident, and turned those stridencies into the reality of what lies beneath their usual inanities.
Alia| 3.26.09 @ 5:53AM
Didn't even know it was Mr. Downey playing that part. My family grew up on films, not tv. My son's precondition for this film is that we not know who produced, directed, or acted in it. So, we didn't peak.
The point of the film was to make us laugh. Not analyze, not find meaning, but to laugh.
Russell Seitz| 3.26.09 @ 7:15AM
Mr. Stein is far too modest.
What could be funnier than _Expelled_ ?
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E.L.| 3.30.09 @ 7:45PM
"They say Ben needs to go to rehab, he say no, no, NO!" I usually only pay attention to Mr. Bowman but I thought, "Ben says it's good so it must be." Not. Go to rehab, Ben.
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