Tropic Thunder (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

Ben Stiller (screenplay) &
Justin Theroux (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | War

Tagline:

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

Plot:

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Southeast Asia | Rescue | Drugs | Oscars Ceremony

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	6:15 PM	MAX
Sun. Nov. 15	11:15 AM	MAX
Sun. Nov. 15	10:00 PM	MAX

Cast

Jeff Kahn	...	Snooty Waiter - Fatties Trailer
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Kirk Lazarus - Hot LZ
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head - Hot LZ
Jack Black	...	Jeff Portnoy - Hot LZ
Jay Baruchel	...	Kevin Sandusky - Hot LZ
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Alpa Chino - Hot LZ
Ben Stiller	...	Tugg Speedman - Hot LZ
Eric Winzenried	...	Chopper Pilot - Hot LZ
Steve Coogan	...	Damien Cockburn - Vietnam Crew
Valerie Azlynn	...	Damien's Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Matt Levin	...	Cameraperson - Vietnam Crew
David Pressman	...	First Assistant Director - Vietnam Crew
Amy Stiller	...	Script Supervisor - Vietnam Crew
Danny McBride	...	Cody - Vietnam Crew
Dempsey Silva	...	Special Effects Assistant - Vietnam Crew

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

Runtime:

107 min | USA:121 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-13 | Brazil:16 | Singapore:M18 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Africa:16LV | Germany:12 | USA:R (NO. 44367) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | France:U | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Argentina:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 | Austria:12 | Denmark:15 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Hong Kong:III | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Tom Cruise co-stars as a vulgar movie mogul in this movie. Ben Stiller played Cruise in a sketch on Saturday Night Live in which Cruise played "Celebrity Jeopardy" and also played Cruise's idiotic stunt double "Tom Croose" in a sketch at the 2000 MTV movie awards.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) says that "Speedman is a dying star, a white dwarf heading for a black hole. That's physics. It's inevitable." But a white dwarf do not head for a black hole, white dwarf is the final state of average and small stars. White dwarfs will eventually become black dwarfs once they cool off, in a very very long time, so long that there's no known black dwarf existed in our universe.

Quotes:

Studio Executive Rob Slolom: Wow. 8 Oscars, 400 million dollars at the box office, and you saved Tugg Speedman's career.
Les Grossman: I couldn't have done it without you.
Studio Executive Rob Slolom: Really?
Les Grossman: No, dickhead. Of course I could. A nutless monkey could do your job. Now, go get drunk and take credit at all the parties.
Studio Executive Rob Slolom: I wouldn't do that.
Les Grossman: Ah... joking.
Studio Executive Rob Slolom: Ah, there he is! Funny. You're a funny guy.
Les Grossman: Yeah. But seriously, a nutless monkey could do your job.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Green Berets (1968)

Soundtrack:

Low

Take the movie for what it is.

I am sick of reading reviews that claim that this movie is so offensive and degrading to different people and different cultures, etc.

Enjoy the movie for what it is. It is a movie meant for entertainment. The flack that Borat got and the flack that The Ringer got does not stop those two movies from being great and hilarious.

Americans are made fun of all the time, and I don't understand why Americans are being offended for the bringing down of others when those people aren't offended.

I am Filipino and half American and I have mentally retarded family members and I thought that The Ringer was a great movie; This movie is not making fun of Mentally Challenged people anymore than Forrest Gump did.

This movie was hilarious and was given the "R" rating for a reason. If you are smart then you have seen the kind of movies Ben Stiller and Jack Black are in, and you know that the humor is quite fast and sometimes very crude. If you are offended by this movie, then don't see it. Go see Space Chimps (good movie), unless you are going to be offended by degradation of Life on other Planets, etc.

Just, take the movie for what it is. A Movie meant to target a specific audience and bring humor and happiness. The movie was not made out of malice, no one said "Let's make fun of Asians and Retards," and then popped out "Tropic of Thunder."