So when action star, Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), drama phenomenon, Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), comedic actor, Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), rap musician, Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and acting newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) find themselves in the jungle and their director blown up because of an old land mine (though Speedman is convinced that was just special effects), the five guys must work together to make it out of the jungle alive, and heck, they might even make a film in the process.
It isn't long before a schism forms in the group and the other four guys finally convince Tugg to hand over the map so they can make their way back to the landing site. Now, with Tugg going off in one direction trying to finish the movie on his own, the rest of the squad isn't doing all that great either. Portnoy starts hallucinating because of cocaine withdrawals, Alpa Chino is growing more and more aggravated with Lazarus' portrayal of the squad's black Sergeant and the fact that he won't break character, and Sandusky tries to hold everything together since he was the only one that actually attended the movie's military training sessions.
It isn't long before Speedman is captured by a drug production organization based in the jungle and is forced to re-enact scenes from one of his recent movies, "Simple Jack". Armed with their knowledge of how the original Tropic Thunder squad broke the real "Four Leaf" Tayback out of the POW camp, the others mount a rescue attempt and try to get Sppedman back to the landing site.
Besides the five main actors, the movie's supporting cast of Nolte (as "Four Leaf"), Danny McBride (as the demolitions expert), Steve Coogan (the film's director), Matthew McConaughey (Speedman's agent, Rick Peck) and Tom Cruise (as Hollywood producer Les Grossman) really complete the movie. With the rest of the cast, the film's parody of the movie industry is complete. Between McConaughey's constant choices of money over his friend and client, and Cruise's portrayal of the sleazy filthy rich producer, they just add that extra something to the movie to make it more than just a bunch of guys running around a jungle.
This 2-Disc Edition has several interesting special features including "Before the Thunder" which interviews Stiller (in the role of Writer/Director) and several other crew members about the early stages of Tropic Thunder. This special feature also talks with the other cast members like Robert Downey Jr., Black, Baruchel and Jackson. "The Hot LZ" is about making the film's opening scene where the actors are trying to load up on the helicopter while explosions are going off all around them. There are also the production design and explosive featurettes, as well as features on each of the major cast members. But probably my favorite featurette was the fake-documentary "Rain of Madness" that is "the documentary of a film about the making of a film that led to it's own un-making."
Tropic Thunder really is a great comedic movie. Even if you aren't a fan of all of the main actors, their chemistry really sings through and becomes a really good film. This is definitely a film worth seeing and if you aren't a fan of Stiller, Black and/or Downey Jr., then maybe you should just rent it - but those that like the actors should just go out and buy this DVD.
