Tropic Thunder

I don't know how I feel about Ben Stiller as a filmmaker.

Yes, he is a funny actor, particularly when he is being more subtle and not trying to hard to be the over the top Ben Stiller. I know, you're thinking "What does that mean?" Think of him in The Heartbreak Kid. He's ridiculous and schticky. But in There's Something about Mary, he is much more low key and relaxed. It's night and day between those two films (and I won't make any commentary about the difference in quality between those two movies). As an actor, Stiller is fine and I enjoy watching him.

I bring this up because as a filmmaker, unlike his acting work, it's much more difficult to nail down his effectiveness. Take Zoolander: I think of it as Stiller's opus on the absurdity and stupidity of the fashion industry and the materialistic and egotistical nature it inspires. I didn't find it all that funny, but it does make some interesting and poignant points about the subject matter. I wouldn't rate it very good, but it's worth a one-time look.

I think of Tropic Thunder (TT) as his Hollywood equivalent of Zoolander. I won't bother to summarize the plot because it doesn't matter; the plot is simply a vehicle for Stiller to do what he really wants, which is to take square aim at the ridiculousness of how Hollywood makes movies and what actors go through to get into the mind of a character or the atmosphere of a film's setting. And just like Zoolander, I didn't find it particularly funny, but it did raise interesting thematic ideas throughout.

I view TT as I do Entourage. It is an illuminating look behind the curtain of Hollywood and its workings. It gives me a sense of how movies get made and all the ridiculousness that studios and actors will go through for the "love of the craft" (which is code for the big payday or the brightness of the fame spotlight). Don't get me wrong, it's not like I feel like they portray Hollywood in a fair or honest light, but all of the absurdity is underlined with kernels of truth.

TT got a lot of attention for Robert Downey Jr., who plays Kirk Lazarus, an actor who decides to go under a radical surgery to play an African-American in the movie-within-a-movie. And don't get me wrong, he is good and fairly funny throughout the movie. But it is Tom Cruise, who plays movie executive Les Grossman, who steals the movie. He is very funny and owns every scene he is in. It's not that Downey didn't deserve it, but I think Cruise should've gotten the Best Supporting Actor nomination for this movie.

Besides the comedic lampooning of Hollywood, the only other reason to watch TT is Tom Cruise. I just hope that future Stiller-directed movies have more comedic substance and less social commentary in them.