Tropic Thunder (2008)
80%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
10 wins & 47 nominations total
With biting satire, plenty of subversive humor, and an unforgettable turn by Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder is a triumphant late Summer comedy
Tropic Thunder is a hilarious movie that pokes fun at Hollywood’s ridiculousness. While some critics found it lacking in coherence and substance, I found it to be a wild ride full of explosions, silly sketches, and memorable one-liners. Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise steal the show with their scene-stealing performances. Sure, it may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for a good laugh and some mindless fun, Tropic Thunder is the perfect movie for you. Just don’t take it too seriously!
Production Company(ies)
Diamond Docs A&E Indie Films, Passion Pictures,
Distributor
DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Kaua’i, Hawaii, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):English, Mandarin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 13, 2008 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Action
Keyword(s)
starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Brandon T Jackson, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen, Stuart Cornfeld, Eric McLeod, directed by Ben Stiller, written by Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen, comedy, action, R rating, box office gross $110.4M, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Glenn Kenny, Nell Minow, Ben Kenigsberg, Joe Williams, Tom Charity, Danielle Solzman, Charlotte Harrison, David Walsh, Mike Massie, Jason Best, Richard Propes
Worldwide gross: $195,702,963
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $269,573,354
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 547
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 29,397,312
US/Canada gross: $110,515,313
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $152,230,621
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 510
US/Canada opening weekend: $25,812,796
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $35,556,140
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 369
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $92,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $126,726,485
Production budget ranking: 289
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $68,242,212
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $74,604,657
ROI to date (est.): 38%
ROI ranking: 1,205
Jack Black – Jeff Portnoy
Robert Downey Jr. – Kirk Lazarus
Nick Nolte – Four Leaf Tayback
Steve Coogan – Damien Cockburn
Jay Baruchel – Kevin Sandusky
Director(s)
Ben Stiller
Writer(s)
Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen
Producer(s)
Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Eric McLeod
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
10 wins & 47 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (253) | Top Critics (69) | Fresh (207) | Rotten (46)
The bulk of this movie, alas, comes down to weak sketches held together by ridiculous action, vast explosions and more or less everything else it should be parodying.
January 27, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Given the incoherence of its satirical aspirations (the film does end with a suggestion that everyone involved still loves this business we call show), and finally too scattershot to really make it as parody, Tropic Thunder is best appreciated as a goof.
December 13, 2017
Glenn Kenny
MUBI
TOP CRITIC
February 18, 2012 | Rating: B+
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Tiptoes to the fine line between irony and insight and blows it to smithereens. It’s hilarious.
October 18, 2008 | Rating: B+
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Though some of the caricatures wear thin, some of the acting rises to a high level.
October 18, 2008
Tom Charity
CNN.com
TOP CRITIC
Tropic Thunder certainly has flaws but at the end of the day, it is an over-the-top satire that shows everything that’s wrong with Hollywood.
August 13, 2021
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
Packed full of hilarious and infinitely quotable lines, it also features two scene-stealing performances by Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise.
June 1, 2021
Charlotte Harrison
Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies
Because of the lack of a strong theme or point of view, unwittingly perhaps, the film becomes a version of the phenomenon it set out to parody: an action film, even a semi-patriotic action film.
February 13, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Egregious amounts of violence crop up, but they’re mitigated by the constant silliness surrounding them.
November 28, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
This no-holds-barred send-up of Hollywood pomposity and folly flaunts its tastelessness and flouts taboos with a brazen recklessness.
November 13, 2020
Jason Best
Movie Talk
Easily Stiller’s best film in quite some time and yet another testament to Stiller’s gifts as a filmmaker.
September 26, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com…
Plot
Action movie star Tugg Speedman is on the downslide of his professional career. He wants to be considered a serious actor, but his latest serious role as the title character in “Simple Jack” resulted in negative reviews and ridicule. Comedian Jeff Portnoy is best known for his leading roles in sophomoric comedies, and may be less well known for his rampant drug use. Five time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus is a serious method actor, who immerses himself in whatever the role. On location in southeast Vietnam, they are the stars of “Tropic Thunder”, based on Vietnam war veteran ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback’s memoirs of his rescue during the war, that rescue which was considered a near suicide mission for the assigned army force and resulted in him losing both hands. For his role, Caucasian Australian Lazarus even went through a controversial surgical skin dying procedure so that he could convincingly play a black man. Production is not going well since rookie director Damien Cockburn is unable to control the prima-donna attitude of his three stars. Cockburn and Tayback decide that the five primary actors – Speedman, Portnoy, Lazarus, rapper Alpa Chino, and newcomer Kevin Sandusky – need to work together as a unit as did their real life characters. The five are placed in the middle of the jungle, and with only a map and their prop machine guns in hand, are asked to work together to battle through the stunt pyrotechnics in their way. What none of the seven of them know is that they have been dropped into a real life drug war led by the Flaming Dragons. It isn’t until Speedman is captured by the Flaming Dragons and tortured that they all realize that what they believed was make believe gunfire and land mines was actually real life. As the four actors try to figure out what to do concerning Speedman’s situation, all five go through their own journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, the movie’s megalomaniacal profanity spewing producer Les Grossman and Speedman’s faithful agent Rick Peck argue about what to do about Speedman’s situation. And Tayback inadvertently shows a little of his true self.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels highlights Robert Downey Jr.’s “unforgettable turn” in Tropic Thunder.
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