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Article: 'Tropic Thunder' sets traps for some of cinema'sbiggest stars

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The Sun - Naperville (IL)
Article date:
August 21, 2008
Author:
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The jokes are machine-gun fast in Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder," a spoof of pretentious war movies and Hollywood hubris in general. To help you keep up, we've prepared a guide to the movie's targets.

Target No. 1 - The Oscar-mongering war movie

"Tropic Thunder" is a satire of war movies in general and "Platoon" in particular. The movie within the movie, also titled "Tropic Thunder," aims to be an operatic Vietnam epic in the mold of Oliver Stone's 1986 Best Picture winner.

Ben Stiller's Tugg Speedman, a pampered action star trying to break into "serious" films, even mimics the iconic "Platoon" moment when Willem Dafoe falls to his knees and throws up his arms in despair.

Target No. 2 - ...

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