I never thought I'd say this, but Ben Stiller directed and co-wrote the funniest movie I saw in 2008, Tropic Thunder. While I've enjoyed some of Stiller's work, particularly his guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, I've never found him nearly as funny as his most devout fans. However, Tropic Thunder has me rethinking where Stiller fits in the comedy pantheon.This movie not only has tons of laughs, it’s also a lot smarter than I anticipated. Every film buff loves a movie within a movie, and Tropic Thunder delivers several meta jokes about war movies and the movie business in general that work on multiple levels. For instance, the film opens with three trailers and a commercial that are perfect spoofs of different genres and also introduce the main characters.
Of course, Stiller didn’t do it alone. Robert Downey Jr. plays a critically acclaimed white actor who is so devoted to his African-American persona that he never breaks character, even when there are no cameras around and he and his costars are in dire straits. The idea, like much of the film, is delightfully politically incorrect, but ironically, Downey does a tremendous job playing a stereotypical black character in a war movie even though Tropic Thunder is obviously portraying it as a ludicrous concept. Tom Cruise rightfully got many accolades for playing a hilariously vulgar and nearly unrecognizable character, but to me, Downey steals the show. The Academy almost never gives comedies a fair shake, but I’d argue that Downey delivers a borderline Oscar-worthy performance.
Stiller, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and the rest of the cast all have their moments too, but Nick Nolte deserves special recognition. Amusingly, Nolte’s hardened war veteran has a similar hairstyle to his mug shot from a few years ago. His gravelly delivery of campy war lines is exemplary. After a few years of obscurity, it was nice to see Nolte hit it out of the park.
Finally, gross-out gags have become far too common in comedies, but I’ll defend Stiller’s character unwittingly playing with a decapitated head because it was so over-the-top and original. Just like Jeff Daniels unleashing his explosive diarrhea in Dumb & Dumber made any subsequent potty humor in a movie passé, Tropic Thunder reaches the pinnacle of severed-body-part humor, and no film should ever attempt that sort of joke again.
In sum, Tropic Thunder has it all: A stupendous cast, big laughs, smart writing, the ultimate gross-out joke, and it even looked fabulous, being quite possibly the most expensive comedy ever made. Trust me, if you haven't seen this film and love to laugh, rent it. Now.
