Tropic Thunder (2008)
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A group of prima donna actors filming a Vietnam War movie find themselves in actual danger when their director abandons them in the jungle.
The story
Tropic Thunder follows a group of prima donna actors, including the high-profile Tugg Speedman and the method-acting-obsessed Kirk Lazarus, who are filming a Vietnam War movie. When their frustrated director, Damien Cockburn, abandons them in the middle of a jungle to force them to 'find their characters,' the actors are left to navigate the wilderness. They must rely on their acting skills and survival instincts to face real dangers while trying to complete the production. The film serves as a satire of the Hollywood studio system, the intensity of method acting, and the tropes of prestigious war films.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film is based on the memoir of Vietnam veteran John 'Four Leaf' Tayback. The cast includes Tugg Speedman, Kirk Lazarus, Alpa Chino, and Jeff Portnoy. After the director, Damien Cockburn, is blown up by a land mine, the actors believe he is merely faking his death for a better performance. They are dropped into the Golden Triangle, where they encounter the Flaming Dragon gang. While the actors navigate the jungle, Tugg is captured by the gang and forced to reenact his previous failed film, Simple Jack. Meanwhile, Tugg's agent, Rick 'Pecker' Peck, is abandoned by the studio executive Les Grossman. The other actors eventually find the gang's heroin factory and use their script to stage a rescue. They eventually reunite with the others and escape via helicopter. The footage is compiled into a successful film called Tropic Blunder, and Tugg wins an Academy Award.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States; Germany; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ben Stiller
- Writers
- Justin Theroux · screenplay; Ben Stiller · screenplay; Etan Cohen · screenplay; Ben Stiller · story; Justin Theroux · story
- Cast and characters
- Ben Stiller · Tugg Speedman; Jack Black · Jeff Portnoy; Robert Downey Jr. · Kirk Lazarus; Steve Coogan · Damien Cockburn; Jay Baruchel · Kevin Sandusky; Danny McBride · Cody Underwood; Brandon T. Jackson · Alpa Chino; Nick Nolte · Four Leaf Tayback; Bill Hader · Rob Slolom; Tom Cruise · Les Grossman
- Genres
- satirical action comedy; comedy
- Themes
- Hollywood satire; method acting; war film tropes
- Tone and mood
- satirical; comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- meta-fiction; action; military
- Content notes
- blackface
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews for its characters, story, faux trailers, and cast performances, with Robert Downey Jr. being the most positively praised. It was a commercial success, grossing over $195 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · scale: percentage · review count: 249; Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 39
- Awards and nominations
- Hollywood Comedy of the Year Award · Hollywood Film Festival · 2008 · win; Best Comedy Movie · Critics' Choice Awards · 2008 · win; Best Supporting Actor · Golden Globe · nomination; Best Ensemble · Boston Society of Film Critics · 2008 · win
- Production trivia
- The marketing included a real-life energy drink called 'Booty Sweat'.; The film's production was so large it contributed more than $60 million to the local economy of Kauai.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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