Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder is a comedy inspired by what goes on behind the camera, and having a laugh at the vanity, greed, shallowness of the industry. It's funny, but I had a feeling that because many of the jokes are based on life in front of the camera, industry jokes, it might be funnier for hollywood professionals than for joe blow movie fans. You don't have to be a car washer to get the humor in Car Wash, and that's because the humor was about common human foibles. The problem with Tropic Thunder is that the humor is not aimed at human vanity or egos and is very specific to actors and the movie business. This creates a distance with the audience, a sense of sharing the experience with what is happening on the screen. This is why you root for a character or boo them. Because so much of the story is specific to the Hollywood experience, rather than human experience, Tropic Thunder has a difficult time engaging the audience. I think this is why critics have given it less than unanimous praise. However, even with it's flaws, the movie is still head and shoulders better than many comedies in the last few years, including several starring Ben Stiller himself. Read Movie Review