TROPIC THUNDER (2008) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | Reaction & Commentary | WTF DID I JUST WATCH

This week its TROPIC THUNDER FROM 2008!! Woah, this was....well I'll just let the reaction speak for itself.
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*DISCLAIMER* I do NOT claim ownership of any clips used in this video. Used for entertainment and commentary purposes only
Time Codes:
00:00 - Intro
03:14 - Start Watching
38:17- Thoughts and TRIVIA!!

[@ChrisE25]

Black dude here... This is my favorite RDJ role by far!!!!!! I lose it every time he says for 400 years that word has kept us down. 😄 RDJ killed it.

[@Hiraghm]

The thing about this movie is... his black face wasn't mocking black people (as with minstrel shows, etc)... it was mocking white people's _perceptions_ of black people. Like all the kind-hearted white people who said black people didn't know where the DMV was and couldn't get cell phones, during the voter ID debate.

[@ChrisE25]

@@Hiraghm lmao I never understood how we couldn't get an ID either. Every black person I know who wants a license git one. People will say anything 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@oldscratch3535]

@@ChrisE25 Its the bigotry of low expectations. They think you're dumb and incapable.

[@erikelliott8015]

As a black guy I have to say Robert Downey Jr kills as a black dude lol.

[@yt45204]

Unfortunately, the black lead had a hard time at the Oscar's as usual

[@travisbickle1552]

Huh?

[@erikelliott8015]

@@travisbickle1552 Performance.

[@travisbickle1552]

@@erikelliott8015 my bad, i was responding to the other comment. I agree w/ you

[@DomR1997]

The Downey transcends race, lol

[@randallwilliamson3838]

People often miss it... He took the G5 airplane. He then boarded the G5, flew to Vietnam, saved them, jumped back on his G5 and flew home.

[@Carrot421911]

Yep, he managed to have his cake and eat it too. Got the G5 and saved his friend and client. I dont think his loyalty ever wavered. His thinking was "These people arent gonna do anything to save Tuggernnuts. How can I get to him in the shortest possible time?" Answer: G5.

[@BattleAngelFan99]

I did NOT realize that!

[@Zigmond303]

One of the best twists in the movie! Reactors almost never catch that.

[@ShanelleRiccio]

Definitely missed this!!

[@AndrewSkow1]

The deal was he uses the insurance money to get the G5. No insurance money if Tugman lives.

[@Reaction-Addict]

RDJ wasn’t playing a black man. He was the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!

[@mork5218]

The intro in theaters was genius. They had various trailers for real movies and just went straight into the fake ones in the movie without dimming the lights until the Dreamworks logo came up. Super disorienting!

[@Ryotsu2112]

It was amazing. I saw this opening weekend and the fake trailers in the theater had everybody laughing before the real movie started. It was the same when I first saw the trailer for Who Framed Roger Rabbit in the theater before it came out. It cold opened with the cartoon they are making in the beginning and I legitimately thought they were going to start showing cartoon shorts before movies again like they did with the Warner Brothers cartoons in the 40's and 50's.

[@alexdewayne9392]

Dude. I loved it. Just like the other replier said. I was thrown off guard like are these real. Lol

[@cobrallama6236]

Yeah, seeing the film in a packed theater rumbling with laughter when it opened in '08 remains one of my favorite moviegoing experiences!

[@snakeplisskin2570]

I got this movie from red box, put it in, started watching and took it out cause I thought I had wrong movie.

[@elbruces]

What's brilliant about it is that once you start to realize you're seeing fake trailers, you start to wonder how many of the trailers you'd already seen were fake. It made you question everything.

[@Stuck-n-da-90s]

Fun fact. Robert Downey's character says he does not break character till the DVD commentary is completed. Robert did the commentary still in the character of Lincoln Osiris.

[@zbennalley]

He had to cancel a few jobs because he stayed in character. It would've been a totally different version of Sherlock Holmes if they didn't do the commentary.

[@styles9956]

That’s not a fact, he breaks character at the end of the movie..

[@maxducoudray]

The commentary is so funny because Stiller and Black didn’t know he was going to do it in character so he’s constantly cracking them up.

[@emanymton713]

@@styles9956 Robert Downey Junior doesn’t drop character not Kirk Lazarus…

[@maxducoudray]

@@styles9956 The post you’re responding to didn’t claim he never broke. He just pointed out the DVD commentary / in-character connection.

[@bambusbjorn3508]

Tom Cruise actually worked with Ben Stiller to come up with this role under the requirement that he can play it. So he was all in in the first place and wanted to do that. But "only when i can dance"

[@joelwillems4081]

And he wanted to have big hands.

[@matthewdunham1689]

@@joelwillems4081 you beat me to it! 🤪🤣❤️

[@MrHale]

He also gave a lot of ideas for the script. He came up with the studio interference and the studio head part of the script.

[@bobkilla430]

Tom based his character on some of the producers he had worked with.

[@geneeverett7855]

Mostly off Weinstein

[@KS-xk2so]

I've seen video of Cruise talking about playing Les Grossman. When Stiller originally asked him about it, Tom's only answer was apparently. "I wanna have fat hands, and I wanna dance."

[@RocketSurgn_]

I think stiller was even just coming to cruise for an opinion and cruise wanted to do the Les part himself (and had those very key requests)

[@gregbard]

His hands are big because "Les Gros Maines" means "the big hands" in French.

[@ReelUrbanity]

I love seeing reactions of the realization of les is cruise.

[@sirfriendzone1228]

Not only did Tom Cruise help create his role, but he spent years trying to get a Les Grossman solo movie going.

[@a3gill]

RDJ isn't in black face. Kirk Lazarus is. It's subtle, but it's different. lol

[@joelwillems4081]

Yep, RDJ is a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude. He even says so in the film. Wasn't that obvious? :)

[@StayFractalesque]

She looks sooo uncomfortable everytime hes on screen.. lmaoo

[@simianinc]

I don't know what NAACP thought about Downey Jr;'s portrail of a black man, but every black reactor I've watched on KZbin loves it

[@thomaspappalardo7589]

Apparently they screened the movie for NAACP reps before the premiere and they also loved it.

[@NOLAgenX]

Every black friend and coworker I have in New Orleans loved it. The movie was recommended to me by a black friend, as I wasn’t even going to see it. I’m glad to this day that I did and I watch it regularly.

[@mrjdgibbs]

Think has allay seemed like a no brainer to me. 1. Downey isn't doing blackface, his character is white 2. He's satirizing Hollywood whitewashing, whichever is worthwhile of satire. 3. Jesus satirizing method actors So the overall point is pretty obviously not racist or even anti racist. People are smart(except on Twitter).

[@danholmesfilm]

Everyone with a sense of humor loves it.

[@7thsealord888]

As a white dude, I also love RDJ's performance - so easy to see how it could have simply not "worked" with another actor. I also find it very interesting that the few people who question or seem to have an issue with his casting in this role all seem to be white.

[@kroft6799]

Am I the only one that feels old because almost no reactor ever recognizes Nick Nolte?

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

Nick Nolte...from such films as 3 Fugitives (watched this one the most)...one was with Eddie Murphy (48 Hours I think, haven't watched it yet). After looking it up, he voiced the ogre king in the spiderwick chronicles. Parker is another one.

[@EdwardCooler-py6mu]

No, you're not the only one.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

The movies he was in don't really stand out of the crowd of the multitude of movies out there. He is known of by those know of him already. So it is up to those who know of him to introduce others to him. It's like introducing todays generations to musical artists of the past. 3 fugitives is a good one...least that's what I like.

[@aarondonald1611]

I'm 32 and barely know what movies he's in, I recognize the name though just as a general celeb

[@HypoGlycemic95]

People Leaving out Hulk 2003

[@Rick-Rarick]

Tom Cruise killed it in this movie.

[@robertcorbett9455]

He just played it crazy and unlikable. So was just himself.

[@sodapop1850]

As a black man, I had no issues with RDJ's performance. I thought it was great. It fell in line with the movies underlying theme: a Hollywood sattire. How many times did we see Caucasian actors play non caucassian roles. From The Jazz Singer to the Charlie Chan Movies to Scarface, to the Perez Family and on and on. I appreciate that this movie calls out the hypocrisy of Hollywood similar to how Blazing Saddles did 50 years ago.

[@emanymton713]

They should have called this movie “ Full Method Jacket”

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

🤣🤣🤣

[@johnirving5949]

Full Methed Jacket

[@michaelhandy9758]

Fun fact: I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t love this movie.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Lol, same..

[@JimmyLoose]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 That IS a fun fact. I had a lot of fun reading it.

[@geneeverett7855]

Factz!

[@glennwelsh9784]

I find Danny McBride's line about Jamie Lee Curtis especially humorous considering that he'd go on to co-write the recent trilogy of Halloween movies starring Curtis.

[@karthin8017]

No one seems to catch the Driving Miss Daisy line. Driving Miss Daisy is about Morgan Freeman being a chauffeur to an older white woman. They would NOT have needed a pyrotechnics expert for that. lol

[@andreww1225]

RDJ is the funniest part of this movie, he pulled it off perfectly. People are too sensitive about comedy now, it’s not supposed to be taken seriously.

[@randomhero523]

I’m so sad everyone misses the Apocalypse Now and Platoon references

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Me too. This script is so good. I’ve only seen a couple reactors who actually got this film. Plenty have laughed at how crazy it is, but so much of the nuance is missed & that nuance is what truly sets it apart.

[@jamesbond99]

not everybody misses the reference they just don't care about to talk about it because of how crazy this movie is and i have seen lots of people get the references others that don't get them hjaven't seen those movies as well and really who cares its a comedy. do you think everybody that watched austin powers has watched a 007 movie or any other spy movies/tv of the era another example.

[@jamesbond99]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 not everybody misses the reference they just don't care about to talk about it because of how crazy this movie is and i have seen lots of people get the references others that don't get them hjaven't seen those movies as well and really who cares its a comedy. do you think everybody that watched austin powers has watched a 007 movie or any other spy movies/tv of the era another example. Reply

[@vincegamer]

I've seen a couple reactors get it, but most haven't seen those films since most reactors are pretty young

[@karthin8017]

Some reactors catch it, but most don't. I haven't seen a single one catch Danny McBride's line about Driving Miss Daisy, though they'll get the Freaky Friday reference.

[@DaviniaHill]

Justin Theroux got the Iron Man 2 writing gig based off this film, meeting Robert Downey Jr on set. RDJ and Tobey Maguire are in a film called Wonder Boys, RDJ called Maguire to do his cameo on this film. Cruise met Stiller at the MTV Movie Awards in 2000 where he played Tom Crooze, a stunt double for Cruise, it was a bonus feature on the MI-II DVD.

[@Lenk3721]

What do you mean, you people?......What do YOU mean, you people?......Huh?!

[@jaredfalk7701]

“Smells like baloney for some reason”

[@jedlogan392]

As an African -American, I thought RDJ's portrayal was hilarious. It's important to remember the context of the character. RDJ wasn't straight out playing blackface. He's playing a pretentious actor who believes he can play any role. Total satire.

[@shaun374]

One of my favorite details that most people miss is Osiris' lines (or maybe Kirk's lines as Osiris, in this case). Most of his lines are taken from various scripts and prep work he's done over the years. This is why he gets called out for quoting the Jeffersons' theme song. He watched a lot of that show in his prep to play Osiris. He can't ACTUALLY offer any advice as a black man. But he can quote a show that sounds like it's good advice. Later, he uses really weird Vietnamese pretending to be a farmer because all he can do is recite the Vietnamese he's learned from some script somewhere along the line. There's other little pieces of this detail spread throughout the film and it's such a clever touch on his character and how he interacts with the world around him.

[@brianvernon249]

There are almost no women in this movie. However, a woman has the funniest line. Maria Menounos doing the happy jack stutter, just brilliant.

[@danielcarswell]

It’s ok, you can laugh. You don’t have to hold it back.

[@Thetenmaumau]

Every single reactor that sees this movie none (zero) ever called out the scene from Platoon. Go ahead find me one.

[@yt45204]

Most of them aren't into comedies

[@leonrussell9607]

I know at least one did, can't remember the name though

[@TheLisa-Al-Gaib]

Yeah, I keep waiting for that too.

[@bodan1196]

They are probably as rare as green goblins.

[@walker1812]

It’s always a friend of a friend that knew a reactor that made the connection, but no proof.

[@likecrazyhorse]

Tropic Thunder staples: "Is this part of the movie?" "Is that Toby Maguire?" "Is that Tom Cruise?"

[@blueroninstudios]

If Alpa Chino's character had not existed, I could understand a ton of black folk being wildly upset at Ben Stiller and RDJ for the character of Lincoln Osiris, but Ben Stiller said "Well, we cant make Kirk Lazarus black face decision work without an actual black character to be like "WTF?" Which is half of why the premise of a white actor doing blackface in this particualr context is funny without being offensive.

[@davidanderson1639]

Fun Fact: Ben Stiller came up with the idea for Tropic Thunder whilst he was filming the JG Ballard biopic ‘Empire of The Sun’ alongside a very young Christian Bale. The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham (Christian Bale), a young boy who goes from living with his wealthy British family in Shanghai to becoming a prisoner of war in an internment camp operated by the Japanese during World War II. Empire of The Sun is one of Steven Spielberg's most ambitious efforts of the 1980s & remains an under-rated gem in the directors filmography.

[@mark-be9mq]

Great film

[@davidanderson1639]

@@mark-be9mq Absolutely!!! Just wish people would react to it. It’s stunning & the cast is packed with incredible actors; Bale, considering how young he is, does an amazing job as Jim….even more so considering the nature of the role.

[@mark-be9mq]

​@@davidanderson1639AIts beautiful in its own way. I forgot what a great cast. Spielberg. The Last Emperor, was another special story/film of that period.

[@isabelsilva62023]

@glennwelsh9784 It is based on British author J.G. Ballard's memories of war time when his family lived in Shanghai.

[@iKvetch558]

Whoa...Shan has not seen this? I could have sworn she reacted to this already? Well...no matter...not gonna complain, because my evening just got a whole lot better because I get to watch Shanelle react to this movie...and that is gonna be AWESOME! lol 😂

[@extantsanity]

Apparently not. I didn't expect her to get the movie, and she sure didn't lol

[@psingone]

I wouldnt say black face which is usually a comically insulting method this as skin tinting and character transition. I as a black man never found anything but hilarity in this role Downey shared with us. Still hilarious almost 20 years later.

[@dnish6673]

Yeah, it’s not blackface, it’s playing an actor who, in his hubris, chooses to do blackface.

[@dsfddsgh]

2008 without a doubt saw the greatest comeback in movie history . First Iron Man makes RDJ a bigger star then he was before all of the drug busts and kicks off the most successful franchise in movie history with the MCU then this movie where he was nominated for a Oscar. RDJ had gotten back to making movies again after his last arrest to try to build up his career then suddenly Iron Man happens and he becomes a huge star out of nowhere.

[@nateisler3]

For 400 years that word has kept us down

[@CrashTestPilot]

"Snake and Nape" = Jets dropping Mk82 Snake Eye bombs, and Napalm.

[@anthonyguadagnino2681]

Saving private Ryan, deer hunter, apocalypse now, mission impossible, Indiana jones, platoon, we were soldiers. Parody of all these movies.

[@jamesbond99]

yes butr it doesn't matter

[@matthewdunham1689]

I love all the Apocalypse Now and Platoon references.! 😂❤ Maybe a little Deer Hunter thrown in for good measure! Also an underrated line "DEA SCUM"! Ben "wait has there been some rewrites???" That still makes me LOL to this day for some reason!!!!

[@SilentBob731]

Possibly the greatest Comedy in the 21st century. A stellar cast, hilarious writing, some solid action beats, and an amazing soundtrack. I'm looking forward to some Shan-Shock on this one. 😮🤣

[@martinbraun1211]

Ben Stiller is a huge Star Trek fan and includes references to it in almost every one of his films.

[@nathancruz9172]

I didn’t know he’s a huge fan of Star Trek.

[@martinbraun1211]

@@nathancruz9172 You can find his segment at the 30th anniversary of "Star Trek" in 1996 here on KZbin. Just search for "Ben Stiller Star Trek".

[@TheJamieRamone]

Dude, that's so kewl!

[@leonrussell9607]

He also has the gorn head, I don't know what that is but he has it

[@aaronhusk]

It isn’t a love letter, it is making fun of self- important actors.

[@Lynn7015hb]

Just saw the thumbnail and had to come right over. One of the best comedies of all time.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

“Not even Tarantino would do this..” Oliver Stone did almost exactly this in Platoon🤣

[@mcjim256]

Every reactor misses this. Was going to make the same comment but you beat me to it 👍

[@thomastang798]

Fun fact: RDJ was actually nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year, losing out to Heath Ledger's Joker in Dark Knight.

[@breakevenmonkey]

RDJ received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this movie.

[@paulp9274]

Unfortunately for him, he was up against Heath Ledger's Joker.

[@seansteyer8851]

This was the first movie my niece saw Robert Downey Jr in. So when she finally saw him in a movie as a white guy it blew her mind! She actually thought he was black! LOL

[@mrtb7676]

Before I saw it, I thought it was Jack Black, Ben Stiller and a lesser known black actor, but they'd billed RDJ ahead of him, sort of like how Michael Jai White was third billed in Spawn despite being goddamn Spawn.

[@tj_2701]

I can nkt believe she didn't include the line "what do you mean what do you mean you pepole" that's one if the best and funniest lines of the whole movie. lol

[@HelgiWaag]

1:58 "Feels very dropped in the jungle..." Oh honey... .

[@AW11-e4h]

I love watching people try to hold in the laughter while trying to not offend 😂✌️

[@charlesbarnes6912]

"gimme the GD map"😂😂😂 gets me everytime 😂

[@pickthestickup]

Kirk Lazarus said he doesn't break character until after DVD commentary, and the DVD commentary is RDJ in character

[@hk43xx]

I remember reading an article in either Time or Newsweek where they talked about 2 brothers who were made leaders of their rebel group because they were believed to be of divine progeny. This movie was satirizing incidents similar to that with the boy being in charge.

[@BobSingerDaGunslinger]

Why worry about RDJ playing black and not Eddie Murphy playing old white Jew (Coming to America)

[@theylied1776]

I think it's one of the Blu-ray extras. In a deleted scene they explain the kid is in charge of that processing plant because his father is a drug lord.

[@amarvijh4504]

My test for people to be in my life is the Tropic Thunder test. If the person isn't laughing all movie at this film i can't f with your personality! What a movie!!!

[@keenenbenton9843]

I’m always surprised when movie reaction channels haven’t seen some movies.. I wouldn’t have expected shanelle not to have at least known how much of a big deal this movie is… I’m bias because I grew up watching movies tho

[@Rob_F8F]

In the opening sequence, the enemy had Reverse Stormtrooper Syndrome. They just could not miss hitting Ben Stiller. 😂😂😂

[@Serryy]

From what Ive gathered over the years online as a person who doesnt live in the US, there are 2 issues with blackface: 1. In the past, blackface was an offensive caricature of what black people look like. 2. Blackface being used to not hire black actors. I think that the blackface in this movie is not met with much negativity, because its neither used to make fun of black people, nor could they have hired an actually black person to play this role, so RDJ didnt take this away from anyone.

[@Paisa231]

I don't get why people may think this will offend anyone, unless insecurity and lack of humour is present.. As many times before its common that other people take offence, than the "imitated" group. Anyway this movie is funne, and its satire. And it's so very important to protect. As this kind of movie is not possible in anyway today. Sadly. So great that you watched this, as this hopefully will make people laugh and enjoy humour. While the satire will provoke some deeper thoughts after the screen goes black 😊

[@reggieedmond9770]

I commented earlier that I hadn't finished the reaction yet but now that I have. Once again I'm black and as far as I can remember there was no reaction from black people. I believe that it was understood what RDJ was portraying and how ridiculous it is. Also if people wants to be offended they should check out the westerns that still come on tv with white ppl playing Native Americans and calling them the red man while still referring to black characters as n@#+&s . So if that's ok then this is ok, I don't wanna get on my soap box but the world has become too sensitive.

[@mortalgargoyle2260]

People need to think about how confused we kids were at that opening in the movie theater. Took us a second to realize after the bust a nut and booty sweat ad.

[@anthonydean1743]

As a promo for this movie JB, Stiller, Robert D. Jr did a skit for American Idol as background Singers/Dancers The Pips for Gladys Knight Midnight Train to Georgia song. And after the film came out Tom Cruise actually dressed as his character and had a big dance number at the MTV Movie Awards.

[@FootballGnome]

Saw this in the theater with a bunch of friends so the trailers opening caught us off guard and was a bunch of fun. Also, not knowing anything else about this movie when Les Grossman showed up it was "Why does he look so OMG it's Tom Cruise!" Happy you liked it.

[@msgSharke]

My favorite line probably “I’m moving to catering after this”. Yep❤

[@Eleutherios1]

Whoever edited this did the watchers a pretty major disservice. Edit out all the 'wait for it lines' and moments.. or maybe they were just saving the disappointment when she won't laugh because she's "uncomfortable"

[@FINNSTIGAT0R]

Yeah, it was pretty infuriating 🙄

[@generic_sauce]

I honestly feel so stupid these days: when I saw this in theaters I legitimately had no idea the producer was Tom Cruise until the end! I kept thinking "damn, he looks so familiar" then the credits rolled 😵‍💫

[@rustincohle2135]

I didn't know either. It was a surprise for a lot of people in fact.

[@darinswift490]

I thought you would like this more, missed a bunch of classic lines in the edit… it was a brilliant image to Hollywood film industry.

[@FINNSTIGAT0R]

The movie might have been too much for her sensibilities, judging by what was left out of the edit 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@carlrogers3505]

Jamie Fox insisted that RDJ had to take the part. Basically convinced him that the part cant be played any other way.

[@jaybird4038]

On KZbin you can find various interviews with both Downey & Cruise about their roles in this movie... Downey's interview on Joe Rogan was particularly revealing in his mindset, coming off of filimg Iron Man, deciding to do THIS and wondering if he had made the biggest mistake of his life. My favourite quote of his was him saying to Rogan 'if it doesnt work out at least ill get to be Black for a summer'. Cruise did an interview on BBC1, he said that he and Stiller were friends and after reading the script orginially the character of the studio head wasnt in it, but on his advice Stiller wrote it in and got him to read it again. After reading the character, Cruise said 'Ill do it, but I want fat hands and I want to dance'. Both turned out to be epic roles for a couple of epically talented actors in one of the best comedies of all time.

[@PromptCriticalJello]

"WTF DID I JUST WATCH" So nice to see you get it.

[@oneopinion6806]

As of when the movie came out Tom Cruise was in a hybrid of serious action movies with serious drama movies. As far as I remember there was no indication he was going to be in Tropic Thunder. Even though it's very obvious now when you watch it that it's him, because of all the serious work he'd done--and his generally intense demeanor, it was a true surprise in-viewing that the character was him! It's why they kept the credit until the last. Love this movie!

[@thegreatbocaj]

Most movies that I know I am going to see I don't watch the trailers. Going blind into a movie is so good.

[@matthewdunham1689]

It's actually a modern "Blazing Saddles" have you seen the Mel Brooks classic yet? I think you did but I've watched so many reactions i cannot keep straight who has done what anymore. (This is one of the best comedies of all time!) ❤😂❤😂❤😂❤😂

[@TheJamieRamone]

She has. Can't remember if it's on the channel or remains Patreon exclusive, but you can look it up.

[@buning_sensations5437]

Thanks to the folks for enabling the reaction of Shanelle hyperventilating to suggesting this, priceless.

[@SonOfMuta]

8:11 Wrong. He is not in blackface. RDJ is making fun of pretentious method actors

[@emilyreilhan]

"les grossman" in French: les gross mains = big hands

[@joshuakramer9833]

This came out while I was deployed to Iraq. I lament all the great films teleased while I was deployed ( The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk...)

[@DavidLopez-qi8hb]

Robert Downey Jr. caught some criticism by a few people for the role, but the vast majority of the criticism went to Ben Stiller and the Simple Jack character. "You m...muh m...muh muh make me happy."

[@ads2686]

got nominated for best supporting acotor at the Oscars. losing out to heath ledger

[@darkphoenix2]

It's always funny seeing how people react to the humor in this movie. In 2024 it seems edgy and shocking to certain people but it's completely harmless and I think there's just a lot of brilliant little moments throughout it.

[@j-bus4262]

Excellent! Is he dead? We all asked that in the theatre... then Jack Black yells out Yeah! Almost as if answering all of our questions in the theater!

[@Serryy]

Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey in the same movie sharing a scene is amazing.

[@shanepye7078]

“Fartin in bathtubs and laughing your ass off” 🤣

[@RossWrock]

Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller have been friends for decades. Ben used to impersonate Tom on his variety show "The Ben Stiller Show" in the early 90s. He made mention of the film to Tom, and Tom's one request waws he'd do it if he could have "fat hands." The rest is history.

[@DukeDarkshadow]

Don't forget when Ben played Tom on SNL Celebrity Jeopardy

[@NOLAgenX]

For me this is one of the funniest movies made. I watch it still twice a year. I was recommended this movie by a black friend. All my black coworkers in New Orleans were totally ok with RDJ. They thought it was super funny. Thanks for the reaction!

[@Urzu71]

Tom Cruise’s character was his own idea. He specifically wanted big hairy hands and wanted to dance in the movie.

[@alexbebout6931]

Damn I was expecting more laughs outta this one it's one of the funniest ever

[@wmorrison02]

I saw this one in the theater at Balad Air Force Base while we were waiting to leave Iraq at the end of our deployment. I loved it. It was one of the best things I saw in Iraq.

[@mparantha]

came out when i was a senior in college. my roommates and I saw it in theater and loved it. it's been a favorite of ours ever since.

[@jwoodard29]

Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller got the inspiration for the movie not only from overly serious method acting but from actor friends involved in war films. These delusional actors believed that they endured filming hardships comparable to the experience of real solders in war.

[@anthonytobin2337]

In the 90s Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller worked on some comedy skits where Stiller played Tom’s stunt double. Worth checking out.

[@jwoodard29]

RDJ and Tobey McGuire also played lovers in "Wonder Boys" (2000).

[@stevenmonte7397]

I saw this in the theater when it was released! It was SO FUNNY!!!! Nonstop laughter the whole time!

[@bipolarewok]

Also, it's well documented how tobey maguire had a whole douchebag phase in his spider-man years and how the fame went to his head, so the fact that he was willing to be part of a movie that made a joke about his biggest achievement as an actor being an mtv movie award for best kiss really says something. I mean, in a movie about how big actors' egos are, to have an actor's ego roasted like that... and he's still game?

[@DevInvest]

Cruise was the one who said he’d do the role, but he wanted enormous hands.

[@danebono7667]

Oh, I've been waiting for this. One of my two favorite comedies of the last 25 years, the other also being a satire/mockumentary that should be in your list (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story).

[@ashesbaby266]

I saw this in the theater with my brother. We had a total blast!

[@joshuasilvius7854]

Another great Ben Stiller movie is the super hero comedy, Mystery Men.

[@gluuuuue]

Comedians and comedy writers are absolutely trying to get audiences to laugh their asses off about every irreverent scene ever, by making you laugh not necessarily at the act depicted but the stupidity that landed said characters in that situation: - man stepping on landmine and exploding to bits - man eating another man's flesh dripping out of his head - man in blackface - man acting mentally disabled - man acting mentally disabled getting beaten - women getting whacked by rifle - kids getting crushed by Jack Black landing on him - flatulence humor - young kid getting punched and yeeted off an exploding bridge (to a mini-Wilhelm scream)

[@shaunwhelan17]

Fun Fact: Tom Cruise read Ben Stiller's script and said he wants to be in it, and gave Ben the description of who he plays. It was Tom's idea, not Ben's

[@phdonnell]

There a feature length mockumentary about the making of the Tropic Thunder movie within the movie, and it's pretty great, too.

[@randogirl-3]

Saw this in theater. Packed audience, uproarious laughter from beginning to end. The snooty teens in front of us were the only people not laughing! Maybe you have to be of a certain age to get it? It’s a favorite for me.

[@bran1886]

Snake= snake eye bombs, they are used at low altitude and drop incredibly fast. Nape= Napalm This was a popular combination used in the Vietnam War.