Tropic Thunder

But first I also read Shadow Castle and it was still wonderful. You may not be able to go home again, but some books still have the power to enchant. And I'm reading the last in Alastair's Reynold's trilogy and it's quite goo, even if I did get waylaid by H.L. Mencken last night-a book in which he says that readers can look at his papers after he "shoves off for bliss eternal", which may be my quote of the year.

So, Tropic Thunder. I'm warning you, that unless you have a deep appreciation for the sheer silliness of some Vietnam movies, wherein thew actors involved talk about how difficult their "boot camp' was or know about all the cliches used in many Vietnam movies, you may not get the awesomeness of tropic Thunder. It also helps to have an insidery viewpoint of Hollywood, which makes it all the more fun to watch these actors satirizing the making of movies, actors themselves and Vietnam movies in particular.

I have to start of by mentioning the previews, which were also hilarious. Ben Stiller as an action here with a Kurt Russell in Escape from From New York whisper, has to save the world when Earth stops spinning on its axis (three times, I think but maybe four) and then has to save it again when it starts to freeze, Robert Downey Jr and Tobey Maguire as monks in love during the Dark Ages-the previews for these movies were hilarious.

I mainly wanted to see this movie because I thought Downey was going to walk a very thin line as an Australian actor who undergoes a skin-darkening process to play an American black Sargent. If he did this wrongly, it would have taken away all the good will brought about from Iron Man, but as it turns out, there was nothing to worry about. Downey is hilarious playing a self-involved actor who doesn't break character until the dvd commentary. He annoys the genuine black guy working on the movie to no end. And I'll say this-Brandon T Jackson is excellent. Without his straightforward, what the hell are you doing attitude, Downey would have been over the top. Jackson and Jay Baruchel's intelligence and common sense are a welcome antidote to the self-involvement of Stiller, Downey and co-star Jack Black.

But where to start with the satire? Is it with Stiller with a rag tied around his head and bulging biceps like Rambo? It is with Downey doing a fake "black" accent that mocks both the actor he's playing and the Vietnam genre? Is it Jack Black's blond crew cut and the accent he uses when shooting the movie within a movie (a standard tough-guy New York accent) and the dope fiend actor who lights up when they see the heroin factory of the drug dealers of whom they have run afoul? My personal favorite were the songs chosen for this movie. When the actors trek through the jungles of Southeast Asia, we hear Run Through the Jungle, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Later, when they're near a river and fighting, we hear For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield. These two songs are a requirement in Vietnam movies-I don't think you can make a movie about Vietnam without playing Buffalo Springfield. For the record, I burst out laughing when that song started-I just wish they had played The End by The Doors as well. Even Matthew Mconaghey (who I despise as an actor) gives a genuine performance in this movie. Yes, he's conniving agent who thinks his client has killed a hooker, but he was good. And Tom Cruise was hilarious and almost unrecognizable-nice fat suit and shirt unbuttoned to show chest hair, Tom!

if you think you can get these jokes, then go see it. If you don't, then don't bother because the whole movie will be lost on you.