Upon my first viewing I was thinking about tagging this as a midnight movie, but for some reason I had doubts. After viewing it a second time, I've definitely made up my mind. To what honor is it a midnight movie?, I'm still not sure. Midnight movies often feature bizarre sexuality, pathetic attempts at horror, or quintessential bad acting that is so bad its hilarious. Wait a minute! This movie is about bad actors. Actors so bad, they go full retard, don't know who they are, or are so hopped up on heroin the only thing they can do is fart. I'll even take it further, if you keep fueling the Rambo franchise with money, you'll only realize that the studio keeps making sequels because they're actually waiting for Stallone to die on the set as opposed to the belief they'll actually be any good.
It's Stiller's take on the Hollywood landscape that is just mind blowing. Obviously, Tropic Thunder was written with so much anger and disdain for Hollywood that I must think Stiller is trying to get himself blacklisted. Or is he a genius for pointing out Hollywood's shortcomings? In the movie the actors are portrayed as pathetic idiots, who are simply tools used by executives to rake in a profit, only to be slapped around or fed to the lions at the chance for a higher profit margin.
I'm going to continue to praise Stiller's genius, a midnight gesture in itself, for bringing up land mine politics in a most creative way. At the very moment Tropic Thunder's director within the movie is suddenly erased, we get a movie moment that should be remembered for a long time. Not only was the exit hilarious, but the silence and action from the actors following the disappearance is so well played out, that the audience itself gets loudly confused for a moment. Another credit to Stiller's genius is that every joke is not only is setup well, but also carried out to the fullest extent possible. It's likely this point that gives Stiller credibility, where he hasn't had any before. Believe me, I've noticed him playing the exact same retard role in too many films. I have heard there are some good ones, but I haven't seen them. I take that back, I loved him in Zero Effect. I will take further recommendations. But, for this film, Stiller shows he can excell at both acting and writing, ... and directing. Though, with so many A-list actors (real actors), it couldn't have been difficult.
One last note, Tom Cruise has a bit part in this film, which is a midnight performance in itself. Normally when I think of Tom Cruise, I think of a guy with an egotistical swagger in his voice, without any real hint of acting capability. Can you honestly name a film where Cruise isn't playing himself? Here we find him playing Les Grossman, a Hollywood exectutive, who is obsessed with diet coke, has fists that can be felt around the world, and has some fancy dance moves. It's nice that Cruise can push Scientology aside for a minute, and actually do what he gets paid to do.
Let's review now. Tropic Thunder makes fun of Hollywood, has well thought out and carried out jokes, is actually a cinematographic masterpiece, has an unforgettable Tom Cruise cameo, and just rocks in general. There's more I could cover, of course, but that's why movies are supposed to be watched and not just read about. There's two more showings at the SLC tonight (7 + 9:45). Now about those stars, originally when I saw it I gave it 4 because I just felt it was lacking a bit in the comedy department, but upon a second viewing I caught the stuff I missed before. So, I give this movie 5/5 stars, plus I give it my apporval as a midnight film.
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