I woke up yesterday to a phone call from a creditor threatening to ruin my life for the next seven years if I didn't pay him an ungodly sum of money.
That cemented my entire day. Nothing could change the course of it. Tuesday was going to suck. Just as I was getting ready to go out the door for class, a friend called and said there was a screening for "Tropic Thunder." Decisions, decisions. Go to class and soak in the ever-present mundanity of life while stressing about impending bankruptcy or ditch school and see a comedy. It was a no-brainer.
After watching the film, I am convinced that nothing on this Earth could have lifted my spirits higher than this new comedy from Ben Stiller. The film left me hoarse and gleefully exhausted from laughter. Forget "Pineapple Express," "Step Brothers" or "The Rocker." If you want to change the course of your day, see "Tropic Thunder."
Four actors on location in a jungle, shoot an expensive Vietnam movie. They are spoiled childish prima donnas who can't discern a real life experience from the movies they star in.
The leader of the group is Tug Speedman, played by Ben Stiller. Speedman was once a huge action movie star, but his career took a nose-dive when he tried to go for Oscar gold by playing the mentally handicapped farm boy "Simple Jack."
Robert Downey Jr. plays an Australian method actor who undergoes plastic surgery to portray the African American soldier Osiris. Jack Black plays drug addled Jeff Portnoy, an overweight actor best known for his roles in movies like "The Fatties." Brandon T. Jackson plays rapper-turned -actor Alpa Chino who has his own energy drink called "Booty Juice." Jay Baruchel, who normally plays screw-ups in films like last year's "Knocked Up," is the straight man to this odd bunch of characters.
The movie's director, Damien Cockburn, played by Steve Coogan, is fed up. He needs real emotion from these actors. So, he drops the actors in the jungle and with help from his gung-ho pyrotechnics supervisor Danny McBride, attempts to recreate a war-like experience. But he didn't know that he was putting them right smack dab in the middle of a territory run by armed-to-the-teeth heroin smugglers.
There has been controversy surrounding "Tropic Thunder," and it wasn't from Robert Downey Jr. donning black face. It came from "Simple Jack." A coalition of more than a dozen disability groups called for a national boycott due to the very existence of the character. If you want to rob yourself of the euphoric feeling that took a hold of me, then by all means boycott. But you will be missing the target of the film's stereotypical portrayals of the handicapped, African Americans, Jewish people, and drug addicts - Hollywood. It is obvious that "Thunder" is not a jab at anyone but the Hollywood community. All this boycott nonsense is much ado about not a damn thing.
Forget about the controversy or lack thereof. Co-writer and director Ben Stiller not only reinvigorates his career with 'Thunder," but it's safe to say that from now on, we will be seeing far braver comedies come out of Hollywood. "Thunder" is a massive achievement for Hollywood. Just when we were all getting so used to the we're-funny-because-we're-outlandish brand of humor from the Judd Apatow camp, Stiller comes along and makes the most original comedy in years by merely poking fun at himself and the movie industry that has made him so much money. While "Thunder" decapitates the inflated head of Hollywood, it is still apparent how much he and everyone involved in the film love what they do.
But, prepare to be offended. My jaw dropped when Speedman hacks a Panda bear to pieces. Prepare to be disgusted. I gagged when Portnoy tried to put pressure on a massive blood-spurting head wound. But also prepare to be absolutely blown away by the genius, bravado and pure tenacity of "Tropic Thunder."
Think of it like a drug. For me, it took the edge of my financial problems for a day. So, if you're having a particularly awful day, ditch all responsibility and see "Tropic Thunder."
