Tropic Thunder

Carolyn and I went to go see Tropic Thunder today.


I liked the movie. We were pretty shocked at first because it started with some fake movie trailers and the first one threw us for a loop.

I'd heard about the controversies with the movie talking about going "full retard" and Robert Downey Jr. basically in blackface.

First off, the whole "full retard" bit wasn't a slam on the retarded, even though out of context it sure could be thought of that way. In the movie, the banter is going back and forth about Ben Stiller's character playing the role of a retarded boy in an earlier movie. That bit (the earlier movie) was so over-the-top that it went beyond offensive, but the part that people were complaining about was the discussion, not the movie flash-back. Robert Downey Jr. was telling Ben Stiller that he took the role too far and that's why the movie was a flop. He went "full retard".

Now with the blackface bit, they were making fun of blackface itself, which would be impossible to do without having Robert Downey Jr. in blackface....get it?

Anyway it was a funny movie. Not as good as dodgeball, but well worth my time.