Tropic Thunder

It's amazing that, after all this time, Ben Stiller is still obsessively playing the same character over and over. "Male masulinity gone wrong" is pretty much all Stiller can do, or at least all he can write for himself. 'Tropic Thunder' finds him stepping right back into the same comic mold. Here he plays fading action star Tugg Speedman, whose been spending his recent career years putting himself in roles that will make audiences take him more seriously as a dramatic actor. After a failed attempt at playing a buck-toothed, mentally-retarded farm boy in 'Simple Jack'; he gets a shot as the lead in a Vietnam epic. Its a who's who of a cast; including a drug-addled, lowest-common-denominator comedy star (Jack Black) and an Austrailian actor (Robert Downey Jr.) who's total immersion in his characters has won him more Oscars than anyone ever. Here he's set on upping his game by surgically darkening his skin tone in order to play an African American Marine. After the pampered stars ruin a million dollar shot; the film's grizzled, Vietnam Vet technical advisor (a perfect Nick Nolte) convinces the director to throw the cast into the deep jungle and shoot the film guerilla-style. The director immediately (spoiler alert!) steps on a landmine, leaving the five leads alone in the jungle where they soon wander into territory occupied by a small army of drug runners who think they're D.E.A. agents.
'Tropic Thunder' is Stiller's best film since 'Zoolander', even if it draws heavily from it. Matthew McConaughey replaces Jerry Stiller as Stiller's tough-as-nails agent. Like Owen Wilson's 'Hansel' in Zoolander; Downey's Kirk Lazurus starts out as Stiller's adversary, but they're soon forced to bond and finally become true bros. The film is another fantastic send-up of the entertainment industry as a whole; where money is more important than actual lives, and everything is run by cutthroat business tyrants. Tom Cruise gives the film it's most talked about cameo as Les Grossman; the hairy, bald, and brutally vulgar studio head who rules over the film with fear and intimidation.
Sadly, the cameo succeeds on little more than hype over Cruise playing against type. The character itself and Cruise's immersion in it are mainly what centers his scenes, but the killer lines never really come. It's still a pleasure to watch him gyrate around his office and insult everyone around him. Though Stiller is a one-trick pony, he's still good at his one trick. Watching him lose it in the jungle with that long face of his reminds us of why we love seeing him play idiots who take themselves so seriously. Jack Black succeeds only at doing "Jack Black" - the Robin Williams-style, "more is better" overkill.
The real joy is watching Downey play an Austrailian actor playing an African-American Vietnam Marine. Fresh off his triumph in 'Iron Man', he again proves that he can do anything. He disappears behind the dark skin and afro; but never enough to not be another self-indulgent, Oscar-baiting actor. "Man, I don't break character until the DVD commentary" he proclaims. Even a brief "Inside The Actor's Studio"-style clip; where he sends up Sean Penn's chain-smoking, hoarse whispered artist-drivel is spot on. The film's "who are we really " moment doesn't really play out too well, and is another to loud echo of 'Zoolander'; but watching Downey take off his character is hilarious.
'Tropic Thunder', like Stiller himself, is a contradiction. Stiller spends so much time sending up masculine vanity, all the while engaging in it himself. He mocks men who show off their physique, but he does it by always flaunting his own overly-worked out body. And sending up Hollywood is one thing, but sending up Hollywood using Hollywood heavyweights is another. Though I guess that's what makes it all so convincing. It's a relief to see the "Oscar-drive" ridiculed so blatantly. "...deserves an Oscar" is most critics' shortcut to describing the pleasure of watching actors work, and the award itself is little more than one of vanity. Speaking of contradictions: not since Kevin Kilne in 'A Fish Called Wanda' has an actor won Hollywood's top honor for a purely comic turn. Looking at Downey, I think we can all agree it's time for the Academy to recognize comic acting as some of the best.

'Pineapple Express'

Much has been said of 'Pineapple Express' as the new 'stoner comedy"; which includes alumni such as 'Half Baked', 'Super Troopers', and 'Run Ronnie Run'. Stoner comedies do not entirely have to revolve around marijuana, but being stoned definitely helps the audience find things funny. 'Pineapple Express' certainly makes no bones about our protagonists' love of the ganj, but marijuana serves more as an instigator and opportunity for James Franco to showcase his considerable gift for playing a pot dealer who wears his buzz in his sly grin and half-open eyes.
Franco and Seth Rogen star here as dealer and customer who inadvertently become the targets of a drug kingpin and his crooked-policewoman sidekick. The two are chased around L.A. and end up in any outrageous situation and conversation Rogen and his screenwriting partner, Evan Goldberg, can come up with. The results involve a lot of bad fighting, a harmonious/terrifying trip into the woods, and a car chase made all the more difficult with the driver's foot caught in the windshield. The film seems to be an homage to the action-comedies of the '80's and early '90's, and it's climax is nothing short of a total blowout.
The marriage of writer Seth Rogen and director David Gordon Green is a harmonious one. Like most of the other Judd Apatow-produced comedies, the dialogue constantly veers off course in the direction of anything that might have a laugh waiting. As Gordon has demonstrated in the past, he loves virtual non-actors and lets their chemistry alone dictate many of his scenes. It's hard not to appreciate Rogen and Apatow's quest for just wanting to make people laugh, but one can't help wishing they could do it by writing better films.

Second Viewing Alert - Wednesday, 7 January, 2009
Watch soon for musings on movies that get better with subsequent viewings. In the meantime, let me take this opportunity to retract the considerably negative feel that may have come off of this last review. Watching 'Pineapple Express' on it's opening weekend was a mistake. Everything seemed fine until some perpetual college-dickhead showed up late (probably due to his need to finish off a quick second bowl) and sat right next to me - where he proceeded to demonstrate his inability to laugh like someone who isn't an asshole. I was forced to casually move to the other side of the theater where I tried to watch the movie behind some other dickhead's cell phone. I swear people, I'm strictly renting from now on, or going to the 11am show.
First off, I didn't see the more than gifted hand of director David Gordon Green. Like he demonstrated in 'George Washington' and 'All The Real Girls', he has a true love for the outdoors. The daytime shots are all kissed with a golden sunlight which make the scenes feel like an afternoon on the playground, or reminiscent of the films the '70's which maybe inspired the screenplay. Green, and his cinematographer Tim Orr, relish any opportunity to zoom in on characters during key conversations. For all the irreverence, he makes it all feel like a story worth telling. Secondly, I failed to appreciate the weight of all the supporting players. A story like this is only as good as the characters that end up involved, and every actor delivers as twisted players in this seedy underworld of L.A. Why is Rosie Perez STILL so hot? Discuss.
Greatness in art doesn't always have to be so profound. It often just has to be well played. Look at the Pixies. One of the greatest bands the states have produced, his songs were usually little more than tall tales (probably written when he was particularly tall). 'Pineapple Express' is likewise a similarly twisted comedy of errors, but it Green's hands feels REAL TALL.