As far as his directorial career goes, it’s Stiller’s most ambitious film and it’s certainly impressively executed as it begins with an outstanding sequence that pays homage to the film’s greatest influences, Apocalypse Now and Platoon. However, it’s also guilty of Stiller’s comedic tendency towards “everything and the kitchen sink,” in trying to squeeze in far too much, preferring quantity over quality. Ultimately, I realized the film may have been better off if it had either dropped his character altogether or blended his with the underused Baruchel or Jack Black’s, in order to make the comedy more consistent and strengthen the storyline.
And while on the surface, that may seem like a crazy idea, in the words of Downey’s memorable Kirk Lazarus, “Crazy’s better than nothin’.” Fortunately, while not nearly as hilarious as most critics would have you believe, Tropic Thunder is elevated far above “crazy” or “nothin’,” thanks mostly to the always memorable Downey. However, the real saving grace is again in the surprisingly hysterical turn by Cruise that actually kept viewers in their seats during the credits to see him continue to dance with the most joy since he slid through the entryway in his socks in Risky Business.
Article comments
1 - Derek Fleek
I thought that the Tom Cruise dance scenes have got to be the worst filmed in 2008. Period.
2 - Jen
Hi Derek,
Thanks for commenting. Re: Cruise-- yeah, I think that was kind of their intention-- to be so bad that it's unexpectedly funny. Sort of like I mentioned re: the film feeling like an SNL skit. On the other hand, to see the worst "period," I'd say take in Mamma Mia! which contains some of the worst choreography ever recorded in the history of musical filmmaking. The sad thing there is I do believe they thought their choreography was actually impressive.
- Jen
3 - Derek Fleek
Thanks for the heads up. I haven't seen Mamma Mia! and will probably skip it entirely. But these dance scenes that involved Tom Cruise are the worst I have seen all year.