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Article: Hollywood Jungle; 'Tropic Thunder' Scores a Few Hits in Action- Flick Lampoon
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 13, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The history of filmmakers skewering Hollywood's darker excesses
is a long and rich one, from Billy Wilder through Robert Altman.
With "Tropic Thunder," a rude, crude, over-the-top satire about
rude, crude, over-the-top action movies, Ben Stiller makes an
ambitious and surprisingly effective bid to join those vaunted
ranks.
It might be a stretch to compare "Tropic Thunder's" profane,
often graphically gross humor to Wilder's far subtler noir stylings
in "Sunset Boulevard," or the nihilistic portrait of coldblooded
ambition in "The Player." But in its own sophomoric, stupid-smart
way, Stiller's portrayal of ego, pomposity and macho swagger manages
to be just as on-point and subversive.
But ...