Tropic Thunder
Dir: Ben Stiller
2008
***
I'm sure on paper Tropic Thunder sounded like a sure fire hit. Unfortunately in reality it's just okay, not terrible, just okay and no where near as good as the hype lead me to believe. I'm being quite kind by giving it 3 stars really. I'm giving it one star alone for what happens to Steve Coogan's character to be honest (the best bit of the film in my opinion). The problem with Tropic Thunder is that in hiring John Toll as Cinematographer it totally misses the point of what a spoof is. The comedy and drama elements are unbalanced, it starts so well and then just loses momentum a third of the way through. The story gets a little thin, the characters a little dull and the point a little confused. As for the acting, well it's fair to say that everyone involved have had better days. It should have been funnier as well, seeing as it had such a talented cast and the long praised and much hyped Tom Cruise cameo was okay but not that funny really. I thought Jay Baruchel was quite good but overall everyone was spread too thin. It's also no where near as provocative and risky as it wants to be but I think in conclusion that is probably a good thing. Fine but far from memorable.