Tropic Thunder (2008)

I first started watching this film last night but only managed to watch the first thirty-five minutes before dozing off. I gave up and finished it today. When I fell asleep I hadn't laughed and I didn't laugh at all today either.

When director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan and yes, his name is the funniest thing about his character) is handed control of Tropic Thunder, an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Vietnam veteran John "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte), he has to deal with the massive egos of his leading actors. Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, who also co-wrote and directed the film) is a washed-up action movie star with an inflated opinion of himself. In what could have been a good role, Stiller gurns and shouts his way through the film and his character grates more than almost any other. Robert Downey Jr. plays the only decent character, multiple-award winning Australian method actor Kurt Lazarus, who undergoes pigmentation surgery to play a black character. The utterly offensive aspects of this aside, Downey Jr. is the best thing about the film. He delivers the film's best lines (both of them) and he's a good parody of method actors. Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) is a rapper-turned-actor with a line of energy drinks to sell. His character gets old after five minutes. Finally, Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is the only character that can make Tugg Speedman seem bearable. A "comedy" "star" and the most obnoxious and unlikeable character I've seen in years, Portnoy is an overweight drug addict and incredibly unpleasant. Ben Stiller's character may be annoying but Portnoy is absolutely unbearable. The stars prove impossible to deal with so Cockburn drops them into the middle of the jungle to make the film guerrilla-style. He's promptly killed by a landmine and the actors have to travel through the Vietnam jungle, debating about whether they're still on set and Cockburn faked his death or if they're lost in the jungle and the people firing at them are real drug-producing guerrillas (they are).

Maybe Stiller should have spent less time thinking up outlandish characters, ridiculous scenarios and silly films-within-the-film and more time writing jokes. The first thirty-five laugh-free minutes dragged on but the subsequent hour and twenty-six minutes were almost unbearable. Tropic Thunder is a parody of big studio excess but it ends up becoming what it tries to lampoon. A big-budget production filmed over several months in Hawaii, the film is an utter failure. It doesn't work as an action film because there isn't enough action and what few gunfights and explosions there are aren't enjoyable because they're either painfully and unintentionally fake or they're played for laughs and they just don't succeed. It doesn't work as a satire because the characters are so bad and the endless ramblings and wanderings in the jungle quickly turn tedious. It doesn't even work as a comedy because it's not fucking funny! As I said, Robert Downey Jr. is the best thing about this film. Tom Cruise, though good and unrecognisable as studio head Les Grossman, doesn't have anything to work with. He swears a lot and has tantrums. Hilarious. Matthew McConaughey as Speedman's agent is probably the best of the supporting cast that also includes Jay Baruchel as Kevin Sandusky, a young actor also trapped in the jungle with the divas and the spectacularly awful Danny McBride as Cody Underwood, the film's weapons expert.

It's been a long time since I saw a comedy film that didn't make me laugh once. Painfully unfunny, dreadfully bad and chock-full of characters that make you want to tear your face off with a rake, Tropic Thunder is one to avoid. If you're that determined to see Robert Downey Jr. in blackface, you can probably find his scenes on Youtube. Otherwise, avoid this film like the fucking plague. This film will take two hours of your precious life and give you nothing but bad memories in return.

2 out of 10.