Tropic Thunder (2008)

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

Ben Stiller (screenplay) &
Justin Theroux (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | War

Tagline:

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

Plot:

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying. |

Plot Keywords:

Frat Pack | Actor | Multiple Cameos | Film Making | White Male Pretending To Be Black

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Speedman
Jack Black	...	Jeff 'Fats' Portnoy
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Kirk Lazarus
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Alpa Chino
Jay Baruchel	...	Kevin Sandusky
Danny R. McBride	...	Cody (as Danny McBride)
Steve Coogan	...	Damien
Bill Hader	...	Rob Slolom
Nick Nolte
Brandon Soo Hoo	...	Tran
Reggie Lee	...	Byong
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mini Anden	...	Krista
Rachel Avery	...	Speedman's Assistant
Valerie Azlynn	...	Damien's Assistant
Yvette Nicole Brown	...	Viveca
Jason Collett	...	Guy at Academy Awards
Tom Cruise
Angela Daun	...	Starlet
Andrea De Oliveira	...	Super Hot Trainer
Kaylee Dodson	...	Sack Race Girl (as Kaylee Beth Dodson)
Jasmine Dustin	...	Trophy Presenter
Nadine Ellis	...	Speedman's Assistant
Danielle Engen	...	Slolom's Hot Assistant
Eric Feliciano
Mike Hoagland	...	Grossman's Assistant
Junie Hoang	...	Hong - Eric's Assistant
Shannon Kane
Tri Le	...	Cyclo Driver
Matt Levin	...	Cam
Tobey Maguire
Matthew McConaughey
Buzz McEntire	...	Farmhand
Anya Monzikova	...	Trophy presenter
Heather Palmer	...	Academy Award Attendee
Tara Paskal	...	Cute PA
David Pressman	...	1st A.D.
Jan Rooney	...	Mrs. Carruthers
Mickey Rooney	...	Old Man Carruthers
Neill Skylar	...	Starlet
Justin Theroux
Elizabeth Thieme	...	Lazurus's Woman
Trieu Tran	...	Tru
Holly Weber	...	Acadamy Awards Starlet
Jeff Weidemann	...	Speedman's Assistant

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The poster for "The Fatties" behind Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) in the trailer features the names of a few of the film's actual crew members: costume designer Marlene Stewart, editor Greg Hayden, director of photography John Toll, and screenwriter Justin Theroux. In addition, the poster contains the DreamWorks Pictures logo, the Dolby Stereo logo, and a fictional composite of several MPAA ratings (reading "PG - Parental Guidance - under 11 requires accompanying parent or guardian").

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Kirk Lazarus: I know who I am! I'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Tropic Thunder (#15.13)" (2008)

Funny spoof of every war film ever made

Saw this at the Washington, DC screening on the 10th.

And Got Some I did. A comedy that is not Apatow's is refreshing nowadays. A relentless hard R comedy that fuses elements of practically every famous war film ever made. Beginning with trailers a la Grindhouse for every major character was already a sign of a hilarious film. While most of the humor was "funny-but-i'm-not-laughing" the same amount of laugh out loud humor and gags was provided as well, courtesy of mostly Stiller and Downey Jr. Who I wholeheartedly feel - stole the show. I can't say I've ever seen any character like his in a film of this genre, which already I feel will enter the classics. What's refreshing about Thunder is that it's actually original in certain aspects of the storyline; such as when they decide to shoot the film guerilla style in the jungle only to have the director of the film....- I'll leave this at that. A spoof of war films that isn't tireless or idiotic like the recent Epic/Date films... which do not even deserve to be called "spoofs". And be prepared for Cruise, who plays the most radical role of his entire career.