Tropic Thunder

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 08 15 (USA) / 2008 08 13 (USA)

UPC: 097363501541

Studio: Dreamworks Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: Ben Stiller's satirical look at Hollywood, Tropic Thunder concerns the production of an epic Vietnam War film that quickly derails thanks to the giant egos of everyone involved in the production. Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, an action hero trying to segue out of that genre. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addicted fat comic also attempting to change his image by taking on such a serious film. They star alongside Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), one of the world's most awarded actors, and a man who insists on immersing himself totally in a role. In this case, that means Lazarus has had his skin dyed in order to portray an African-American soldier. After their outrageous behavior lands the film's director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), in very hot water with producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise), Cockburn takes the advice of grizzled Vietnam vet Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte); in order to gain control of his performers, Cockburn drops the actors off in the jungle, planning to film the movie guerrilla-style with hidden cameras. When the group stumbles upon a heroin production camp, the actors are unaware that they are in very real danger. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Best Comedy Movie – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Ensemble – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor – Detroit Film Critics Society Best Ensemble – Boston Society of Film Critics Best Breakthrough Artist – Austin Film Critics Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Edited Feature - Comedy or Musical – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Breakthrough Artist – Austin Film Critics

Features: cc

Cast Commentary with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Rober Downey, Jr.
Dailies/Outtakes
Improv by Ben Stiller
Blowing $#%+ Up

Tropic Thunder

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/18/2008

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 106 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Tropic Thunder
1. Chapter 1 [3:56]
2. Chapter 2 [3:08]
3. Chapter 3 [1:51]
4. Chapter 4 [4:06]
5. Chapter 5 [1:12]
6. Chapter 6 [3:31]
7. Chapter 7 [3:20]
8. Chapter 8 [1:35]
9. Chapter 9 [5:36]
10. Chapter 10 [:34]
11. Chapter 11 [6:03]
12. Chapter 12 [1:05]
13. Chapter 13 [2:45]
14. Chapter 14 [2:11]
16. Chapter 16 [4:54]
15. Chapter 15 [1:01]
17. Chapter 17 [:12]
18. Chapter 18 [3:33]
19. Chapter 19 [1:41]
20. Chapter 20 [2:14]
21. Chapter 21 [5:14]
22. Chapter 22 [:08]
23. Chapter 23 [2:19]
24. Chapter 24 [3:54]

Perry Seibert

Ben Stiller's biggest problem as a director has been that his material has never quite been worthy of his obvious ambition. But in Tropic Thunder, a satire about the insecurity and immaturity of movie stars, which he co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, Stiller's obvious comfort and confidence in the material grounds the film so firmly that, for the first time, his directorial ambitions can flourish. The premise is that five actors -- three of them international superstars -- are stranded somewhere in Asia believing they are shooting a guerrilla-style Vietnam War epic, when they're in fact caught up in very real danger. This structure serves up so many delicious possibilities that Stiller and his cohorts can't help themselves, they try everything: physical comedy; self-serious Oscar-bait trailers; profanity-laced diatribes from Hollywood power players -- they even mock the horrors of drug withdrawal, all the while playing up the ceaseless insincerity of almost everyone involved in moviemaking. Well-shot by cinematographer John Toll, and cannily edited by Greg Hayden, the film is a visual treat. Moving briskly from joke to joke, Tropic Thunder, much like Hot Fuzz, works as both as an action film and as a spoof of action films. When there are visual allusions to other Vietnam classics like Apocalypse Now or Platoon, the point is never just to reference those great works -- there's always something else going on in those scenes to make them funny, so the homages simply add another layer of laughter. The care that went into the art direction, for instance (especially in the movie memorabilia on display in an agent's office), will bring a smile to anyone paying attention. Nobody can be faulted for missing some of these subtle pleasures, however, because the big jokes are so consistently uproarious. Everyone from Steve Coogan, as the befuddled British director, to Danny McBride, as a gung-ho special-effects man, to Matthew McConaughey, playing a loyal, unctuous agent, takes full advantage of the numerous opportunities to score laughs. Jay Baruchel deserves particular praise for playing the straight man flawlessly against each and every one of these raging lunatics. But it's Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian critical darling revered for his chameleon-like method acting, who will keep viewers doubled up with laughter. The character undergoes a radical surgical process that turns his skin black so that he can play an African-American role, and Lazarus refuses to break character, even when the cameras are off. His ongoing verbal battles with entrepreneurial rapper and fellow cast member Alpa Chino (a rock-solid Brandon T. Jackson, whose character gives the film its screamingly funny first scene) become so comically convoluted that they defuse the racial tension. That comedic shock value adds yet another dimension to a movie that already draws upon the rich tradition of Hollywood self-mockery, from Sullivan's Travels to The Player. Time will tell if this film ends up in the pantheon with those poison pen letters to Tinsletown, but it is safe to say that Tropic Thunder is the most consistently funny movie Hollywood managed to produce in the summer of 2008. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Dempsey Silva  Actor 
Justin Theroux  Actor 
Ben Stiller  Director 
Ben Stiller  Producer 
Ben Stiller  Screenwriter 
Eric McLeod  Producer 
Justin Theroux  Executive Producer 
Justin Theroux  Screenwriter 
Stuart Cornfeld  Producer 
Theodore Shapiro  Composer (Music Score) 
Etan Cohen  Screenwriter 
Ben Stiller  Actor 
Jack Black  Actor 
Robert Downey, Jr.  Actor 
Nick Nolte  Actor 
Steve Coogan  Actor 
Jay Baruchel  Actor 
Danny McBride  Actor 
Brandon T. Jackson  Actor 
Bill Hader  Actor 
Brandon Soo Hoo  Actor 
Reggie Lee  Actor 
Trieu Tran  Actor 
Eric Winzenreid  Actor 
Matthew McConaughey  Actor 
Valerie Azlynn  Actor 
Tom Cruise  Actor 
Matt Levin  Actor 
Amy Stiller  Actor 
David Pressman  Actor 

Country: USA