Tropic Thunder

[trinityvixen]

Spoiler intended for ivy03: How the heck did you keep a straight face when I was talking about Wonder Boys and you knew--you knew!--about that trailer!?!? I wouldn't have been able to do it!!

Liked it loads, laughed a ton. I was bit disoriented by the change of moods back and forth between the disparate groups of characters and the odd cameos and the fact that even though the man is staring you in the face for half the movie, I couldn't really see Robert Downey Jr. I guess that means he did a good job. He did, to be fair. Wonder if he helped coach Jack Black on what it's like having the DTs...

Comments

[droidguy1119.livejournal.com]

I was underwhelmed, but still amused. Robert Downey Jr. was the best part of the movie, followed by Tom Cruise and Jay Baruchel (who anchored the movie) -- honorable mentions to Steve Coogan, Danny McBride and Nick Nolte who did what they could with the little they had. I thought Jack Black wasn't given enough funny lines and Ben Stiller just did his tired old schtick that, as I've finally decided, I just don't like.

In contrast, shockingly, and despite the horribly underwhelming trailers, I thought Get Smart was really great (I caught it today while at a farther away theater still playing it doing a training thing). Maybe not a masterpiece but a solid, highly agreeable B+ on all levels.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I really liked Jay Baruchel, too. And I agree: Ben Stiller's schtick is wearing thin. In a movie where the humor comes at the expense of the characters' neuroses about their profession, his motivation should have been pretty killer: the wanna-be character actor trying to make a dramatic stamp. I think the real failure is setting up a conflict between he and Robert Downey Jr.'s character; in a battle of acting talent, RDJ wipes the floor with Ben Stiller.

I also agree that Get Smart was more laugh-out-loud funny. A lot of Tropic Thunder's humor was that sort of uncomfortable humor that makes me squirm as much as giggle. I prefer not having to work so hard for a laugh, and it's a sign of a great comedian that he or she can make you laugh at something like Get Smart which had the potential just to be yet another Hollywood raping of the Nick-at-Nite TV line-up. I think it helps that with his so-awkward-you're-not-sure-you-can-laugh type humor, Steve Carell is still adorable and sees you through it. Ben Stiller is not cuddly in the same way, nor is Jack Black with his abrasive humor or RDJ with his toeing-the-line performance as "black."

[droidguy1119.livejournal.com]

What I liked about Smart was twofold: The movie didn't feel the need to be comedically "big" at every moment, and Maxwell was actually good at what he does. Any other movie would have insisted that every scene be a giant comic mishap for Max to get strung up in, but instead it actually gave his character skills that he could bounce off Anne Hathaway's character and they had really great interplay. Take the scene where he's listening to the two thugs in the bathroom: In any other movie, Maxwell would have stood there, struggling as his story got more and more ridiculous, but I liked that Get Smart actually chose to move the plot along than make an elaborate gag.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

They had to be careful of making him too competent, or he wouldn't be the amusing foil. It was often lop-sided, but Steve Carell has such a charmed way of smoothing things over, it's amazing.