Blue's Reviews: Tropic Thunder

So, the Missus and I decided to try and start catching up on some movies we've missed over the past couple months. Oddly, it seems like we've seen most of the dramas/actioners but our comedy fill wasn't quite met. Pineapple Express, Hamlet 2, and Burn After Reading remain on the list but last night, we crossed Tropic Thunder off the list.

Now, I hate movie reviews for the most part. Same thing for music reviews. Most of the time they're just filled with uber-pretentious shit that anyone who actually goes to a movie for fun could give a flying fuck about so instead, I'm going to make an effort to keep it real, yo.

Tropic Thunder is a story of two movies - one that at times could be as boring as watching shit harden in the desert sun (never done it to tell the truth but I bet it's dull!) and the one that at times was just absolutely brilliant. It's rare to see such a duality in a movie actually. Usually, it's just really good, really shitty, or really blah. This one manages to pull off really good and really shitty AND really blah all in two hours.

The acting was hit and miss with some really funny stuff and then just some really kinda there stuff. The Robert Downey Jr. as a black guy routine got kinda old pretty quickly. Oddly, I never got tired of the Simple Jack voice. It's the little things, you know? Jack Black was awesome in it as his usual overacting self. Nick Nolte was entertaining. Shockingly, it was Tom Cruise who stole the show - of course, if you stayed for the end credits, that too got old quickly at that point.

I realize it sounds like I didn't like this movie but I actually kinda did. I just thought it was poorly paced and was probably a bit too long for what it was. On the other hand, I think it's absolutely amazing as a "rehab" flick for some careers that were spiraling down the shitter. As mentioned before, Tom Cruise was awesome and it made me appreciate Tom Cruise again. Nick Nolte was fun in it and almost made me forget The Hulk. Matthew McConaughey even got in on the fun with the most entertaining I've seen him in a long, long while too. Plus, Jack Black got to wash the stink of the Tenacious D movie off himself. So many actors went into this movie soiled and came out much better than they were.

Would I go see it again? Nah, probably not. I'll probably watch it when it makes the movie channel rounds though. Would I buy it? Again, probably not, but I've been known to change my mind on such things after repeat viewings.

All in all, it was a fun way to spend two hours but I don't think it'd crack the upper echelon of my favorite movies I've seen this year.