DVD Review: Tropic Thunder 2-Disc Directors Cut

Movie Info:
Writer: Ben Stiller
Director: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny R. McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Bill Hader, Brandon Soo Hoo, Reggie Lee, Trieu Tran, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise
Rating: R
Studio: Dreamworks

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 13, 2008
DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $22.99

Before I really even knew what the movie Tropic Thunder was about, I was already told, by the many disability activist groups I receive email from, that I should hate this movie. This movie was offensive before I even saw it, or it was supposed to be. As a person with a disability, I was expected to picket Tropic Thunder without even knowing the context in which the r-bomb was dropped or why it was being used. All I can say is I’ve heard worse terms used, and this movie has a white man pretending to be black, so there is the potential for something far more offensive than a word I’d heard more times in a middle school lunchroom than any other insult, if you want to get technical.

I am of the firm belief that some comedy just isn’t PC. Comedy is about making fun of things. Sure, there are plenty of words I don’t like. For example, I hate when people say “crippled” or “handicapped” as both are rather archaic terms. Still, if I hated every movie that talked about crippled folks or somebody handicapped, I’d not enjoy some pretty decent movies. I don’t take offense to words, even when used in stupid comedy, just for the sake of taking offense. I take offense at comedy for being dumb, period. Of course, if the movie is so dumb it manages to be funny, I can make an exception for dumb humor.

This is where Tropic Thunder works. I get the point, the farcical nature of the movie. Having been in a mockumentary (a film making fun of filmmaking in documentary style farce) I better understand that this film is a mock-u-film. It’s making fun of film making. It’s making fun of actors and nothing more. Basically, it’s saying actors do some pretty stupid crap, taking their craft to the extreme. One of the examples just happened to be how Dustin Hoffman/Tom Hanks took on roles to play an autistic and a mentally slow person and sadly, the “r-word” wasn’t seen for the context it was used in. Nobody condones using the word, the movie was mocking the performances of these actors and others like them, on the whole.

If you can get past all the PC-crap, Tropic Thunder is a good movie for only one reason. That reason is Robert Downey Jr. He gives a stunning performance as a method actor. In fact, Downey Jr. seems to be mocking himself, in part, because he too is a method actor. Essentially, he was meant to play this role and if you watch this movie for any reason, watch it for him.

The Tropic Thunder Plot
The movie, Tropic Thunder begins with some fake trailers and advertisements to introduce the world to the main characters of the movie. For example, there is an ad for Alpa Chino’s (Brandon T. Jackson) Booty Shake energy drink. This promotional drink was actually sent to us, as a part of our review. Of course, we’ve not been brave enough to try it…just yet. There is also a trailer for Tugg Speedman’s (Ben Stiller) latest movie, Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown, Jeff Portnoy’s (Jack Black) The Fatties: Fart 2, and Kirk Lazarus’ (Robert Downey Jr.) movie with Tobey Maguire, Satan’s Alley.

Speedman, Portnoy adn Lazarus are three of the main actors in the memoir turned film Tropic Thunder by John “Four Leaf” Tayback (Nick Nolte). Tayback is a Vietnam vet who lost his hands in the war. The movie is supposed to get the faltering action star, Speedman, back on his feet. Lazarus is a five time Oscar winner, who is also a method actor and who has had pigment surgery to “become African American” for his role in the movie. Portnoy is a comedian akin to Eddie Murphy, with a drug problem, and the final members of the cast are the rapper turned actor, Alpa Chino and the new actor who nobody seems to remember, Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel).

With fledgling director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) at the helm, the production falls apart. A studio exec for the studio producing the movie, Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) insists something must be done to save the movie, or it’s never going to be made. That’s when the idea arises that Cockburn will set up cameras all around the jungles of Indochina and the actors will have to fend for themselves, in a live-action kind of filming style.

Unfortunately, what Cockburn doesn’t know is that he’s dropped the actors into the Golden Triangle, which is home to a nefarious gang, the Flaming Dragons. The gang is bad news, as they are heroin producers, and when the cast is dropped in, they’re led to believe they’re actually DEA agents, creating all kinds of trouble for the movie and it’s cast.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Tropic Thunder is viewable through a widescreen transfer with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It’s anamorphic so you can expect about what you would see in a movie theater, if not better. I did not notice any visual problems at all when watching Tropic Thunder. There were no problems with distortion, grain, or aliasing. Instead, you receive a crisp, clear picture that looks simply marvelous from start to finish.

You aren’t going to hear me complain too much about the audio either. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack offers some decent sound all around. It’s a farcical war movie so the sound isn’t as dramatic as you might find in a drama. Still, the sound offers a pleasantly dynamic feel to it that will not disappoint. In addition to standard English audio, there are Dolby 5.1 tracks also available in French and Spanish. The audio options are rounded out with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
We received the 2-Disc Director’s Cut of Tropic Thunder so as you can imagine there were a number of special features to go through on each disc. Many of these were entertaining to watch and fans of the movie should enjoy going through them all. The first disc contains two audio commentaries and some trailers.

The trailers available on the disc include showings of The Soloist, Eagle Eye, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Ghost Town, and Van Wilder: Freshman Year. Additional previews are listed in the special features section.

The first commentary is for the filmmakers. Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Stuart Cornfeld, Jeff Mann, John Toll, and Greg Hayden are included in this commentary. This is going to be best for the film buffs. There is a decent, if not serious, discussion on the production of the film that movie lovers and hopefuls will enjoy watching. The group discuss a myriad of topics ranging from script issues to the locations in the film. This commentary is exclusive to this DVD set and that being said if you’re just into watching the film and having a good time, you don’t really need to see it.

The cast commentary has many of the top names in the film weighing in on things. Cast in the commentary includes Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and Robert Downey Jr. This is well worth listening to. Not only is it hilarious, Downey Jr. makes it an adventure on top of it all! If you’re fans of any of these actors you should enjoy hearing the light-hearted banter and talk of the film.

A “Dreamworks Public Service Announcement” is included that advocates Respect, the only “R” word that matters. There was some controversy with the film using the other “R” word and this was obviously put in to apologize and play nice with the people that didn’t appreciate the use of the word in the film. It turns out that this is actually quite funny and definitely worth watching.

The second disc gets rolling with “Before the Thunder”, “The Hot LZ”, “Blowing Shit Up” and “Designing the Thunder.” “Before the Thunder” looks at the films inspiration and takes you through a table reading. This featurette is specific to this version of the DVD. “The Hot LZ” talks about what it took to make it look like they were making a realistic war drama when they obviously weren’t. This is pretty easy going and includes some information on the opening scene. “Blowing Shit Up” includes what it took to make all of the explosions that are found in the film. Finally, “Designing the Thunder” deals with the various filming locations and what it took to make them look the way that they needed to look.

The 22 minute, “The Cast of Tropic Thunder” includes featurettes for the main seven film stars. This includes Downey Jr, Stiller, Black, McBride, Jackson, Nolte, and Baruchel. You get to see the actors comment on one another and themselves. It’s pretty light hearted overall and it’s not too serious, which is cool.

“Rain of Madness” is by far one of the funniest special features that I have ever seen. I highly recommend that you watch this whether you’re a fan of special features or not. Think of this as a mockumentary with Justin Theroux playing Jan Jurgen. He’s a film buff commenting on Tropic Thunder (the fake one in the movie, not the movie itself). If you aren’t a fan of making-of’s you will love how much they make fun of them and how they do it. It’s just an excellent feature in every way.

There are eleven “Dispatches from the Edge of Madness.” These are shorts that appear to be a DVD production diary, though naturally they are much more than that. You can expect appearances from all the main crazy characters. This is equally as amusing as “Rain” and again, comes highly recommended. These are not included in the standard edition, so that’s something to consider when picking this up.

Next up, fans can enjoy some deleted scenes, two extended scenes, and an alternative ending. All of this is worth watching once, though I wouldn’t go as far as saying they are something that you would need to watch a second or third time. A small featurette, “Make-Up Test with Tom Cruise” has the actor being made up and doing some dancing. This comes with an intro by Stiller and Hayden. An MTV Movie Awards Sketch is up with Stiller meeting Downey Jr and Black to make a viral video that will appeal even to his teenaged nephew. It’s quite amusing to watch and includes more than what you might expect!

“Full Mags” is the last big feature. Lasting for over 33 minutes, this includes four uninterrupted takes that include plenty of improv from McBride, Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr. It’s awesome to watch the process in its unedited form, though some might not want to see it happen in such little ways with various subtle differences. This also includes a small intro by Hayden and Stiller. Some video rehearsals wrap up the special features for this amazing 2-Disc set.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Filled with a plethora of worthwhile bonuses, nice quality audio and sound and plenty of Robert Downey Jr. movie magic, Tropic Thunder is only worth it if you can get past the un-PC nature and see this movie for what it is; a movie making fun of making movies. If you don’t like Downey Jr. or un-PC humor then this should be a pass for you. Otherwise, get ready to laugh your rear off. Tropic Thunder in it’s Two Disc Director’s Cut comes highly recommended.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Tropic Thunder, 2-Disc Director’s Cut, DVD, Movie Review, Robert Downey Jr, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Comedy

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.