Review of Tropic Thunder (2008) by Doctor S — 29 Jul 2016

"Everybody knows you never go full retard.".

The more I see Ben Stiller, the more I realize he usually plays the same way in every comedy and there's definitely diminishing returns. Basically he's playing 'Zoolander: Soldier Of Fortune' which is how unbelievably dense this character is. If you want to see how you can vary your comedy persona, look no further than co-star Robert Downey Jr who is flat-out hilarious with every line he speaks as an Australian 5-time Oscar winner known for extreme method acting, in this case undergoing controversial pigment-alteration therapy so he could play a black soldier in a fact-based war movie! His performance alone makes this worth watching, because without him there's a steep decline. Jack Black is a funny guy, but he's not funny here. Danny McBride can be funny but he doesn't have a very big role (which in truth is the best way to use Danny McBride). Only Tom Cruise - yes, Tom Cruise! - approaches the same level of hilarity as a balding, heavyset , ill-tempered movie producer with incredibly hairy arms. The sharpest comedian of them all is Steve Coogan who exits early, but not before he gives the best fatal motivational speech since Samuel L Jackson in "Deep Blue Sea".