‘Tropic Thunder’ buries the year’s comedy competition
August 28, 2008
By Sam Watermeier <swatermeier@hilite.org>
There may be some confusion in the theatre before “Tropic Thunder” begins. In the middle of the previews, an advertisement pops up for an explicitly titled energy drink, “Booty Sweat.” Then, we see a slew of previews for extremely cheesy and distasteful Hollywood movies: an action movie called “Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown,” a silly family comedy called, “The Fatties: Fart 2,” etc. The drink advertisement and the previews resemble what we see in the media everyday so closely that we totally buy them. Then, the joke is on the audience when these ads turn out to be fake previews featuring the characters in “Thunder,” a bunch of bloated, talentless actors. Those opening 10 minutes of the film alone show that “Tropic Thunder” is one of the best satires on Hollywood ever made. It takes accurate stabs at the business side of the industry, the strange politics involved and most importantly, the lack of originality in the films themselves. Ironically, this film has one of the most original plots in recent years as well as non-stop laughs. However, it is not perfect by any means. Some of the jokes are redundant and the humor is sometimes too dependant on vulgarity. Despite these flaws, it is still one of the best comedies of the year.
“Tropic Thunder” follows a group of pretentious actors making a war film. Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is known for action films whereas Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is known for a comedy franchise involving a fat, gassy family (not far from Eddie Murphy’s ‘Nutty Professor’ franchise) and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.) is known as the Oscar-winner. Lazarus, pretentious as he is, even undergoes special skin-pigment changing surgery to play an African-American platoon leader. The production does not go as planned. So, the director (Steve Coogan) and the author (Nick Nolte) of the book that the film within-the-film is based on, come up with a plan to send the actors into the middle of a real war to make the film more authentic. However, the actors are completely oblivious of this fact and this is when the hilarity ensues.
In this film, nothing is sacred. Writer-director Stiller attacks everyone and everything Hollywood-related with his sharp, biting wit. Producers and agents are depicted as greasy, money-grubbing sleazebags who would sell out their friends for a G5 airplane. Stiller also pokes fun at the Academy for always awarding or at least nominating actors who portray the mentally challenged. This tradition is unfortunately true when you think about reality (Tom Hanks- “Forrest Gump,” Dustin Hoffman- “Rain Man,” Sean Penn- “I Am Sam,” etc.) One can sense Stiller’s frustration with the strangeness of the film industry in these scenes. He definitely has an agenda in the way he pokes fun at these strange Hollywood customs. He wants to open Hollywood’s eyes and our own. That is great satire, the kind with a point that also makes a difference. Stiller reminds audiences why they love comedies- they are cathartic. That’s the good news. Now, it’s time to address this film’s major weakness.
To explain the major flaw of this film, I’m going to steal a joke from the Comedy Central roast of Bob Saget: If some comedians use vulgar language as a crutch, Ben Stiller must be a quadraplegic. There are too many scenes in “Tropic Thunder” that feature random vulgarity for shock value. This is evident especially in the scenes with Tom Cruise as fat, bald producer Les Grossman. One of the main reasons he is funny is because he swears so much and audiences are not used to that kind of profanity coming from Cruise. Although it is humorous, it becomes redundant and, in the end, turns stale. Plus, profanity makes for cheap laughs and Stiller should know that by now.
Despite its flaws, “Tropic Thunder” is still the best comedy of the year so far. I guarantee that it will make you laugh harder than any other film playing right now. Its broad comedy is a refreshing change of direction from the the naturalistc comedy of Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg that is simply becoming dull. Its performances are also much more exciting to watch than the performances in “Pineapple Express.” Downey Jr. and Cruise portray their characters with complete conviction whereas “Apatow actors” seem like they are not really trying. “Tropic Thunder” is the kind of fresh comedy we need right now. Take note, Mr. Apatow.
“Tropic Thunder”
Grade: A-
“Pineapple Express” Smokes Genre Competitors, Sets New High
August 20, 2008
By Mitch Ringenberg
<mringenberg@hilite.org>
Whether he’s directing or producing, Judd Apatow is slowly becoming one of the most reliable names in comedy in terms of sheer quality. Apatow has been on a roll lately, critically and commercially, with huge comedy hits such as “Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and “Pineapple Express” is sure to be received by audiences and critics with the same kind of enthusiasm. Read more
Twisted neglects to stand up to bestselling predecesor Speak
August 11, 2008
By Shireen Korkzan
<skorkzan@hilite.org>
Do you remember the time when you felt advanced reading Cut or Stop Pretending, only to realize a few years later that it was garbage? The one exception was Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. That novel is a work of art that can truly be called a “good young adult novel,” or perhaps the hay in the needlestack.
So when Anderson came out with Twisted in 2007 and it was constantly being raved as a novel with the same quality and vibe as Speak, my expectation was high. I was expecting a well-written, mature piece of young adult literature. What I got instead was a mainstream teenage book about some illiterate loser who constantly threated to kill himself or someone else every single page and used the words “dweeb,” “freak” and “butt” every other paragraph. Nineties vocabulary, anyone?
So as not to make the readers’ eyes bleed, basically Twisted is a story of how one high school boy survives being bullied in school due to being a nerd and having a reputation for being a cold-blooded killer. Tyler Miller has suffered all throughout middle and the first half of high school by being mistreated, made fun of or completely ignored altogether.
This all changes until the end of his junior year when he decides to establish a solid reputation by conducting the Foul Deed, which is to spray paint the walls of the high school (and misspelling “phenomenal” and “testicle” along the way), only to be caught by the police after leaving his wallet at the scene of the crime. But while the whole school hates him for existing, the most popular girl in schools shows interest in him, despite her jock brother’s disapproval. The rest of the novel is spent with Tyler dealing with every worst-case scenario that could happen to a boy during the course of his senior year (and vividly and artistically describing his erections every ten chapters), like getting accused of submitting pornographic pictures of his love interest on the Internet.
It’s not that everything about Twisted is horrid. It just doesn’t glorify what makes Speak so appealing to young adult (it was a dud in comparison, if anything). It’s like every other young adult novel, a story that blandly portrays the suffering of the high school outcast. Readers won’t tell that Speak and Twisted are both written by the same author. Speak has flavor, Twisted has unnecessary humor over the most serious parts.
What especially makes Anderson’s newest book unappealing is the lack of depth to the story. This book had every potential to be a great work of writing, but Anderstand didn’t quite take the chance this time. But sometimes it’s better to take that risk and not tinny the writing to the point of having to weaken the power of quality literature. Twisted does not reach out to a specific audience, which is what strong writing should do. The best part of this novel is that the chapters are short and the pain can easily be endured for no longer than a day.
Alright, so no author is perfect. One disaster can strike at some point in their career. For Anderson, Twisted is her disaster. If the title Twisted matched anything with the book, it epitomizes the “twistedness” of the author’s lack of Speak-like quality writing in 250 pages of disappointment.
—
TWISTED
Pages: 250
Plot: C
Quality of Writing: D
Re-readability: C-
Overall: D+
The Glass Castle triumphs as motivational memoir
August 11, 2008
By Lexi Muir
<lmuir@hilite.org>
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a compelling story of a beautiful young girl in a not so beautiful childhood. Jeannette grew up with parents whose ideals and lifestyles were both damaging to their children and astounding to those on the outside looking in. The nonconformity of the way they lived was both fascinating and frustrating to read about, but despite the hard lives of the children of the Walls family, most of the children grew up and became successful adults, giving hope to all with damaged families, pasts and lives. Read more
Freedom Writers makes strong statement on racial discrimination
August 11, 2008
By Renny Logan
<rlogan@hilite.org>
Freedom Writers Diary is a compelling novel, one which grabs its reader from the very beginning. The book is written in a way that is both easy and quick to read. While it can be said that this isn’t the most challenging book in the world, it puts up a more than a fair fight for most heartfelt book. Read more
‘Gonzo:’ Effective journalism, powerful film
July 30, 2008
By Sam Watermeier
<swatermeier@hilite.org>
“Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” is a memorial to a man who became a hostage to his persona. By digging underneath the myth and genuinely trying to understand that real man, this film liberates him. “Gonzo” clears up misconceptions about the famous writer Thompson without seeming biased and makes the audience understand aspects of him he did not even understand himself, thus connecting us to him on a deep, personal level. Read more
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