Expect Tropic Thunder with Scattered Bursts of Laughter

Tropic Thunder
Release: 08.13.08
Rated R
1 hour, 47 minutes

Matinee ($$$) <
> Full Price ($$$$)


People say that The Dark Knight was a barrage of advertising for the better part of the last two years. I agree, I saw more than my share of brooding trailers prior to its release. Why aren't people chastising Tropic Thunder for the same excessive marketing? After seeing it, I debated long and hard what sort of impact the trailers had on my opinion. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

If you somehow missed the trailers, the produced, written and directed by Ben Stiller Tropic Thunder stars Robert Downey, Jr (Natural Born Killers), Jack Black (Envy) and Ben Stiller (Zoolander) as three prima donna actors filming a Vietnam war epic based on the amazing true story of vet Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte, U Turn). When first-time helmer Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan, Hamlet 2) sees his film slipping away, he takes Tayback's advice to dump the cast into the real jungle, and consequently, harm's way, when they are mistaken for D.E.A. agents by the local drug cartel.

After the one-millionth trailer, the cast's special appearances on shows such as The Idol and all the foundless controversary drummed up by the media, I should have been sufficiently brainwashed to embrace Tropic Thunder. My favorite line in the trailers and the film was delivered by Downey's Kirk Lazarus; "Man, just cuz it's a theme song don't make it not true." Hilarious. But is it okay to laugh at Downey in blackface? Some folks who took issue with that were just retarded...or was being retarded the controversy? Stiller's Tugg Speedman character goes all Corky in a movie role and the backlash in both the content of Tropic Thunder and in our media creates more controversy.

I'd like to start my own controversy about Tropic Thunder: where are the women?! Two early August comedies, Step Brothers and Pineapple Express, dropped the ball on providing some much needed estrogen, but at least they had women in their stories. The only women I remember in Tropic Thunder are a verbal reference to Jamie Lee Curtis and a cameo by Christine Taylor. Honestly, who did Christine have to blow to get that role...oh yeah, nevermind. I love Bill Hader, but couldn't he have skipped being in one comedy this year to throw Kristen Wiig a bone? Heck, I would have settled for a "Me so horny. Me love you long time." stereotype if it meant there was some feminity in the depths of the jungle.

Maybe the vaginal absence is part of the brilliant satire of Tropic Thunder; women are so underwritten in films, Stiller & Co. wrote them as nonexistent. I did enjoy the satirical spin on characters like the studio head played hilariously by Tom Cruise (Magnolia). It was ingenious that the lead black actor is portrayed by Downey's hot-head Australian Oscar favorite instead of a credible and accomplished African-American actor. Even Jack Black's drug-addled sad funnyman had moments that were surprisingly funny. Brandon T. Jackson (Roll Bounce), the rapper-turned-actor with his shrewd product placement and Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up) as the fledgling actor living his dream were also well-placed satire, though both needed more screentime while Stiller could have used a great deal less.

Dirty Undies
Tropic Thunder is a cacophany of foul language, blank firing machine guns and ejaculatory pyrotechnics by Cody (Danny R. McBride, Pineapple Express). There are geysers of corn syrup blood and then there's the CGI blood that looks more goofy than gross.

The Money Shot
Tropic Thunder started with an uproarious hootnanny but quickly slipped into unfunny stints and this pattern cycled throughout the film's length. The establishing shots and the classic rock soundtrack set the war epic vibe perfectly. Performances by Downey, Cruise and McConaughey (Frailty) leave the most lasting impressions. Having not seen two of those three stars in the trailers, the trailer ultra-hype killed stunted the hilarity and shock value of Tropic Thunder.

I've noticed a disturbing trend in August; the comedies are becoming marginally improved with each week's releases. At this rate I forecast Rainn Wilson's The Rocker and Anna Faris's House Bunny to be worthy of full price admission, and the release of Disaster Movie and College on the 29th will most likely blow our fucking minds! Then again, maybe not.

A Quickie: Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind

Release: 02.22.2008
DVD Release: 06.17.2008
Rated PG-13
1 hour, 41 minutes
Matinee ($$$) <
> Second-Run Seats ($$)

On a rundown corner in the town of Passaic, New Jersey sits a quaint little video store. That's right, a video, not DVD, rental shop called Be Kind Rewind. Owner Elroy Fletcher (Danny Glover, Shooter) is being coerced by the city planners to relocate because his shop/home isn't up to code. Mr. Fletcher leaves Mike (Mos Def, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) in charge while he goes on "vacation" with his only stipulation being to keep Mike's moronic friend Jerry (Jack Black, Orange County) out of the store. Meanwhile, Jerry's power plant sabotage backfires, magnetizing him, and badda bing, the entire inventory is erased. To appease the irate customers and keep making money, Mike and Jerry begin recreating the films. Their "sweded" versions soon become the hit of the neighborhood.

This wacky idea sprang from the mind of writer-director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Unfortunately, its execution was stunted. Jack Black is appropriately annoying as the idiot man-child constantly creating more problems than he's solving. Mos Def's Mike is all heart but a pushover, hence why Jerry is always adding to the trouble. The interaction between them is often clumsy as if Gondry is unsure how people should act. When their "sweded" films need a female lead, the addition of self-conscious dry cleaner Alma (Melonie Diaz, Lords of Dogtown) makes the story progression even more awkward.

Be Kind Rewind excels in its spectacular visuals. The trio's "sweded" films are ingenious and hilarious. Cheese pizzas, strings of tinsel, and whatever garbage they can scrounge up from Jerry's junkyard home are employed with MacGyver-esque deftness to craft playful recreations of awesome moments from Robocop, Ghostbusters, Boyz n the Hood and many, many more. There's even a montage of improvised scenes that you could probably watch a dozen times and still not name every film. Gondry's passion for the visual aspect of film shines through these moments. However, the reality of the store's impending closure shakes us from this whimsical daydream.

One reviewer my wife read calls Gondry's Be Kind Rewind a love letter to film. Undoubtedly the love and sweat are almost palpable behind this film's goofy guise. I still hold to my initial reaction; Be Kind Rewind is the most depressing feel-good comedy you'll see this year.

Yes, they use the Carl Douglas song.

Kung Fu Panda


Release: 06.06.2008
Rated PG
1 hour, 28 minutes

Full Price ($$$$) < > Matinee ($$$)



All his life young Po (Jack Black, Nacho Libre) has had dreams of being a legendary kung fu warrior like his idols the Furious Five. He knows about their every adventure; he knows every maneuver by heart, but he's the son of a noodle chef, and as dear old dad (James Hong, Mulan) reminds him,"broth is in our veins." When kung fu master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman, Hook) is forewarned of the dreaded return of Tai Lung (Ian McShane, Shrek the Third), a tournament is announced to name the dragon warrior. As the Furious Five contend for the honor, Po's attempts to glimpse the competition create a commotion that awards him the opportunity to train alongside the Five. With Tai Lung approaching, Shifu and the Five have little time to impart to Po the wisdom of the ancients.

Having mainstream actors lend their voices to animated films can be a mixed bag. During the first chunk of Kung Fu Panda, I found myself preoccupied in the throes of 'Dammit,I know that voice!' I got James Hong immediately (who wouldn't!?) but it was the credits that revealed Hoffman as Shifu and Angelina Jolie as Tigress. Personally, I like my animated characters' voices with a little more pizazz and, um, character. In that regard, Black and McShane save this film. Their voices, the staged antics and the familiar-but-well-laid plot drew my attention from my nagging hang-up and I began enjoying Kung Fu Panda.

Black, who I worried would grow tiresome, is quite lovable as an animated panda. His interactions with his compatriots offer up cute and funny moments aplenty. The CGI wasn't exceptionally cuddly - the animals had the appropriate fur or scales but they didn't have the rich visual texture of, say, Monsters, Inc.

Dirty Undies
You may not believe I'm going to say this: Kung Fu Panda is more action-packed than Indiana Jones 4. Sure, they're all cartoon animals but the fervor with which the Furious Five and Tai Lung battle rocks the very foundations of the city. The excellent crafting of the tale makes the impact of their punches feel more real as you actually fear for these characters. It's not as heart-wrenching as watching Optimus Prime die in Transformers: The Movie (circa 1986), but it does tug the heartstrings a little.

The Money Shot
Conventional and uninspired? Two of the scribes credited for this also wrote Bulletproof Monk; the same film sans the cute animals. It's absolutely conventional, but sometimes great storytelling is all you need. Quick paced with humor for both child and parent, this uphill climb is a fun exercise to enjoy with our underdog underpanda.

A.D.A! (Arrested Development Alert!)

Last thing, I promise: