As a black woman, I’d say this is universally hilarious. Yes, it can be a fine line when playing a role like RDJ did in this but it wasn’t mean spirited or tacky, it was pure comedy and the only other time I’ve laughed as hard at someone playing a different race was when Chappell played the white news anchor. Both of those roles are legendary in my eyes🤣🤣🤣🤣 also, RDJ said Ben caught more backlash than he did for simple jack. It’s funny listening to him tell the story about his mom not wanting him to do this role and that makes it even better lolol. I’m not a fan of Tom, but I enjoyed him in this and would’ve enjoyed seeing him in a few more like this.
And that's the beautiful genius of this movie: RDJ is doing blackface to point out the obliviousness of actors that get so much into the role that don't see what is wrong in doing it, in this case, Kirk Lazarus. The movie never says that Kirk is right for doing it and Alpa Chino point out how wrong Kirk Is.
Yeah I think people who think everything gets canceled essentially take it too far and are ridiculous. Media like Tropic Thunder and especially shows like The Boondocks are never going to be canceled
I know a million people are gonna say it but the line that Robert Downey JR said "I dont drop character until I do the dvd commentary" is literal. lmao it's funny because in real life Robert Downey JR didn't break character until the end of the real dvd commentary haha I love this movie. First time I saw it I couldn't stop laughing.
I know a million people are gonna say it but the line that Robert Downey JR said "I dont drop character until I do the dvd commentary" is literal. lmao it's funny because in real life Robert Downey JR didn't break character until the end of the real dvd commentary haha I love this movie. First time I saw it I couldn't stop laughing.
The reason RDJ gets a pass is because the movie has an actual black person point out how not cool it is. Also it’s not played to be derogatory and is later shown to be an extreme statement on method acting and how problematic it can be. He was also one of the more sensible characters in the film, immediately realizing something was wrong and wanting to get out of the situation.
The big thing IMO is that RDJ isn’t playing a black character - he’s playing a white character whose the one doing the race transplant. So just like we don’t consider people who play murderers or other criminals to be actual bad people even though they’re portraying bad things because those things are part of the story (and in most cases as presented as bad things to do) in this instance RDJ is not blamed for portraying the actions that his character takes as part of the story and which are presented as a very questionable decision.
Thank you it's a statement on method acting which started with the mentally disabled like Forrest Gump and I am Sam back in 2008 the question was what's the next step.
mmhmm. And obviously Robert is not playing it for any sort of racism aspect. If he was.. yeah, would be called out a lot more. That being said.. like Holden was saying, wouldn't be surprised if after he dies, or a long time down the road if things get even more touchy and just soft, if his performance here gets called out.. even if it should just be taken as comedy and not anything harmful
Right. RDJ was not a fool, or a buffoon! But he is showing actually how ridiculous it is. People with brains get it. I'm black and idk a black person that is bothered by this.
When RDJ was on Rogan, he pointed out the the main takeaway from his character is to make fun of actors who think it's ok to do what his character did. He also says that Ben caught more flack for Simple Jack than he did for Kirk Lazarus. I think at the end of the day, what makes this movie funny is that it's not punching down, it's punching up. Also, it's ok to just let go and laugh sometimes. It's very funny!
@@joshhunt4146I think that people see or hear something & critical thought & logic just fly out the window & the knee-jerk reaction flies into their head. Once that opinion is formed, it becomes very difficult to remove it, even with logic.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 i have never known anyone to be critical of it tho… Iv only known of people to not understand the satire and celebrate the fact that RDJ used black face… almost like a green light to be racist
Movie is a 9.5 or higher for me. Every joke hits as hard as it did when I saw it in theaters. Every actor played their character perfectly and they all go through solid arcs. I still say “who left the fridge open?” when it’s randomly freezing one day.
Dont worry if this movie couldn't be made today, its already been made. Also to quote the great Mel Brooks "we couldn't make it then either but we did it."
Nooo freaking way, just thought about this today. Wouldn’t it be cool if Jen and Holden would react to tropic thunder? And than BAM, 2 hours later the video is out! 😂
Amazing to watch his wife trying to avoid feeling shameful for enjoying this movie. Hell, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. 15 years later I defy you to find many people of any race who were offended by this movie. Just watched the interviews with Jamie Foxx about it.
Not only did everybody give Downey a pass for this film, he was actually nominated for Best Supporting Actor only to lose out to Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight.
I remember loving this movie growing up, and the funny MTV movie awards (remember mtv?) that had a funny promo of Jack Black with a kung fu panda head being kicked in the nuts by Iron Man
Fun fact about tropic thunder when Ben stiller hired Tom cruise for the part he wasn’t supposed to be fat or have those big arms it was Tom cruise idea. Ben stiller questioned the idea but once he saw what Tom cruise was going for he loved it.
We need more movies like this. I love that they did a commentary of stuff and were not scared of anything. Reading the comments here, everyone loves this movie!
I remember there were protests outside my local theater over Simple Jack. When my friend and I went to see it, there was a group behind us that said they were planning to see something else, but the protest made them want to see Tropic Thunder instead.
Everyone always says 'you couldn't make this movie today' but I'm a bit older than you and that's what people thought before this came out too! It was a genuine shock as it didn't so much push the limits (which existed even then) as just ignore them completely, but do it in the right way and so well that they carried it off. I remember the review I read at the time took some time on 'this is so offensive it shouldn't work' but honestly it's okay. No, really'. There was a lot of surprise at the time.
For me one it is in my top 10 favourite comedies ever made. Yet sadly this probably a type of film we will never see being made again. Love the cast, the jokes always hits and the writing is unbelievably clever with what it is trying to get across. To me it is a classic as so many people still laugh and quote it today years later.
As a POC what RDJ did here was brilliant. It maybe one of the best comdies to me because of him and the balls to even do this. If any one understands the comedy here and the satire going on with his character can understand that he gets a pass.
Exactly. The most important part is, that it isn't RDJ who plays a black man, but the character RDJ plays, plays a black man! It's the very important distinction that turns it from "not cool" to "funny take on method acting gone too far".
Im a white guy, But I left a comment about this, Ill paste it here: People are acting like there was some huge backlash when there wasnt. There was some, but not a lot. Look at Kidd Rock freaking out over a trans person on a budlight can. stupid. RDJ is playing a white character, doing an offensive thing, and the movie calls him out on this by having a actual black person in the movie next to him calling him on his bullshit. In the movie Blackkklansman, Topher Grace (white actor)plays the leader of the KKK. In Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a WILDLY racist man who uses the N-word. These guys dont get backlash, because they are not portrayed by the movie in a positive light. The message of the movie is that they are bad. In Tropic Thunder, RDJs CHARACTER (not RDJ) is doing a cliche, stereotypical and racist imitation of a black person, and the movie makes it clear. they have a black man standing next to him saying "what do you mean you people" and "Not all black people eat collard greens". Thats why its not offensives. I would say the Simple Jack storyline is more unempathic, and lacking nuance, and has mentally handicapped people as the butt of the joke more than RDJs character.
Edge of Tomorrow is a great Tom Cruise film that's worth a watch. My personal favorite of his. He shows a lot of range in his acting ability, and the movie's concept is really solid
As far as I can recall, the blackface thing didn't really come up, even at the time, Ben Stiller let the NAACP preview it just in case and they were fine with it. And doubtful wouldn't create problem now or in the future because Robert Downey Jr's perform was so good that you can't fault anything about it. And that's putting aside that he IS *playing a guy wearing blackface,* and not playing a black guy in the movie using blackface. Huge difference.
Years ago, I was in a film camp and though I prefer filmmaking, I decided to try acting and had to do a mock audition using any monologue of my choosing. I used Tom Cruise's monologue where he screams through the phone. Unfortunately, I'm not great at acting while being stared at by 20 people judging me.
Jack Black interviewed with another youtuber and stated that Tropic Thunder was so exhausting. He said that the film location was out in the middle of nowhere. They had to travel on rough bouncy road for like 3 hrs before they were even able to shoot then travel the 3 hrs back.
Robert Doeney Jr. was nominated an Academy Award for his work. Also, this film came out in the same year as the first Iron Man, so RDJ had a great year.
Not the only time RDJ has played an Australian - he also played an Aussie in Natural Born Killers. And, as an Australian, I'm not at all offended at my nation being portrayed by RDJ
The great thing about the line "Man I don't drop character till I done the DVD commentary," is that if you watch Tropic Thunder with the commentary on, RDJ does the whole thing in character..
The landmine scene is just comedy gold.. Perfect execution..! First the extensive explanation by the director, followed by him saying “Let’s go make the greatest warmovie ever!” Then him turning around, the click of the mine arming, him looking down and going “Oh..” in a manner that would rather suit dropping your car keys than realising you stepped on a mine. Kabooom! All of em standing flabbergasted and silent… 10 out of 10 score
I’m only at the scene where the director exploded on the land mine and I’m dying laughing with Holden.. lol ur wife’s face from the beginning of the movie is priceless so far. She just looks like she’s in shock of what’s going on lol great reaction
I am so glad you guys watched this movie, its a key part of my childhood haha The references are coming even a decade and a half later I LOVE holden laughing at the little moments that are easy to miss and understanding the nuanced humour being referenced with RDJs storyline
It will just take one that does really well for more studios to take the risk. It’s a no brainer in our eyes but the studios need to see that no matter what people say the numbers don’t lie lol
I really enjoyed watching Tropic Thunder as it’s one of my favorite comedies😁😂🔥. The whole cast was great including Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, Mathew Mcconaughey, Tom Cruise, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Danny McBride etc👍. I loved Robert Downey Jr as Lazarus aka Lincoln Osiris, he was the funniest and it was controversial but it was just funny simple as that; “For 400 years….”😂🤣😁. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman is so iconic and hilarious as I adore him dancing which is iconic as well👏😂. Loved your reaction/analysis, take care and have a good one♥️
Robert Downey Jr’s best performance since Chaplin! This is one of only two movies that i can tolerate watching Tom Cruise aside from Rain Man because he’s freaking hysterical as Les Grossman in this film. I always consider it to be a gift from God because this was our only chance to see both Iron Man and Spider-Man in the same movie together. Tropic Thunder always has and will continue to make me happy. 🎬🎥😂
This is in fact the 2nd joint appearance of Robert Downey Jr. and Tobey Maguire (they first worked on WONDER BOYS (2000) together). In fact, Tobey's cameo in TROPIC THUNDER was an homage to that movie to an extent. WONDER BOYS has Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym from the MCU) in the lead role.
This is one of those few movies that still holds up. I still laugh just as hard as when I saw it in theaters. I’ve yet to meet someone that didn’t like this one.
I feel like a horrible person for not knowing that Jen is pregnant, even though I’ve been subbed for a while (and watched a lot of your back catalog😬) Well belated congratulations to you both! I hope everything goes smoothly, and everyone is healthy
If y’all like this y’all would love Dale and Tucker vs Evil. This reaction was so fun to watch i loved y’all’s reactions & I wish y’all the best for the baby on the way and the new experiences to come in your family.🥰🤣🥰
Backlash for Downey Jr? Heck, they even nominated him for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars! Even both, RDJ and Cruise were nominated for Golden Globes! And if I may at, IMO deservedly so!
Actually when Tom Cruise got the script, he said he wanted to have fat hands and he wanted to dance. He also added his character to the script and rewrote a lot of it himself. He added the whole studio side of the script to the movie and said it would make the movie a way funnier. And it did.
Other RDJ movies worth watching include Due Date and both Sherlock Holmes films. Other movies featuring Jay Baruchel include The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Knocked Up, She's Out of My League, This is the End and the RoboCop reboot
the moment when dark haired american actor plays blonde blue eyes australian actor who plays black man disguised as a vietnamese farmer is an absolute golden peak of golden age of hollywood that cannot be topped.
Not only did RDJ not get backlash at the time, he was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) for this role. My how Hollywood has changed in such a short time.
I don't know if it's been mentioned, but at the beginning of the movie, Ben Stiller's intro is an homage to Willem Dafoe in "Platoon." It was the poster and the VHS cover.
Anyone saying how RDJ‘s and Stillers roles are politically incorrect or that this movie wouldn‘t be made today misses the point. They are satirical in nature and the movie even points out how method actors don‘t really emerge in a role but behave how they think a group behaves, only furthering stereotypes. The movie was made surprisingly early for it‘s message
The character Tom Cruise plays was actually a character that he came up with himself. He told Ben Stiller he wanted to be in one of his movies and he described the character he wanted to play, including the dancing stuff.
This is a great movie it's been a long time since I first saw it. I saw it with some friends back in about 2008. The movie makes fun of several war movies like Apocalypse Now, Platoon and The Deer Hunter just to name a few. When it comes to this movie think of a modern day Blazing Saddles from Mel Brooks.
Robert Downey Jr. not only got away with it. But he got nominated for an oscar! Best actor in a supporting role! A freakin Oscar nom! It would never happen nowadays.
Saw this movie in theaters, and it was a trip trying to figure out if booty sweat and the following trailers were real movie trailers or… apart of the movie. It was a seamless transition.
This movie is a classic. What made me laugh is Ben Stiller's character is carrying a M4 Carbine in a Vietnam movie. The M4 Carbine wasnt introduced in the U.S arsenal until 2007ish. Lol. Id like to think that it was poking fun at the inaccuracy of war movies and their weapon sets lol..
As a black woman, I’d say this is universally hilarious. Yes, it can be a fine line when playing a role like RDJ did in this but it wasn’t mean spirited or tacky, it was pure comedy and the only other time I’ve laughed as hard at someone playing a different race was when Chappell played the white news anchor. Both of those roles are legendary in my eyes🤣🤣🤣🤣 also, RDJ said Ben caught more backlash than he did for simple jack. It’s funny listening to him tell the story about his mom not wanting him to do this role and that makes it even better lolol. I’m not a fan of Tom, but I enjoyed him in this and would’ve enjoyed seeing him in a few more like this.
And that's the beautiful genius of this movie: RDJ is doing blackface to point out the obliviousness of actors that get so much into the role that don't see what is wrong in doing it, in this case, Kirk Lazarus. The movie never says that Kirk is right for doing it and Alpa Chino point out how wrong Kirk Is.
@@danielruiz8259 It isn't really blackface as he isn't painted ''clownlike'' as actual blackface were.
@@Masterfighterx That's a silly hair to split. It's still blackface. You're thinking of minstrel shows, specifically.
The difference is who he is making fun of.
Yeah I think people who think everything gets canceled essentially take it too far and are ridiculous. Media like Tropic Thunder and especially shows like The Boondocks are never going to be canceled
The look on Jen's face when the director exploded was... AMAZING!
Holden's wheezing laugh 😂
Her face when Tugg launches lil' Half Squat into the ditch... Even better!
10:19
I know a million people are gonna say it but the line that Robert Downey JR said "I dont drop character until I do the dvd commentary" is literal. lmao it's funny because in real life Robert Downey JR didn't break character until the end of the real dvd commentary haha
I love this movie. First time I saw it I couldn't stop laughing.
Was coming to say this 😂 the commentary in character was hilarious 🤣🤣
I know a million people are gonna say it but the line that Robert Downey JR said "I dont drop character until I do the dvd commentary" is literal. lmao it's funny because in real life Robert Downey JR didn't break character until the end of the real dvd commentary haha
I love this movie. First time I saw it I couldn't stop laughing.
This is this movie's version of "he actually broke his toe, when kicking the helmet"😅
Ummm... he drops character IN the movie 🤷
@@hulkslayer626 The character of Kirk Lazarus...
The reason RDJ gets a pass is because the movie has an actual black person point out how not cool it is. Also it’s not played to be derogatory and is later shown to be an extreme statement on method acting and how problematic it can be. He was also one of the more sensible characters in the film, immediately realizing something was wrong and wanting to get out of the situation.
@@radbarij He'll get a pass regardless because he did that great of a job!
The big thing IMO is that RDJ isn’t playing a black character - he’s playing a white character whose the one doing the race transplant. So just like we don’t consider people who play murderers or other criminals to be actual bad people even though they’re portraying bad things because those things are part of the story (and in most cases as presented as bad things to do) in this instance RDJ is not blamed for portraying the actions that his character takes as part of the story and which are presented as a very questionable decision.
Thank you it's a statement on method acting which started with the mentally disabled like Forrest Gump and I am Sam back in 2008 the question was what's the next step.
mmhmm. And obviously Robert is not playing it for any sort of racism aspect. If he was.. yeah, would be called out a lot more. That being said.. like Holden was saying, wouldn't be surprised if after he dies, or a long time down the road if things get even more touchy and just soft, if his performance here gets called out.. even if it should just be taken as comedy and not anything harmful
Right. RDJ was not a fool, or a buffoon! But he is showing actually how ridiculous it is. People with brains get it. I'm black and idk a black person that is bothered by this.
When RDJ was on Rogan, he pointed out the the main takeaway from his character is to make fun of actors who think it's ok to do what his character did. He also says that Ben caught more flack for Simple Jack than he did for Kirk Lazarus. I think at the end of the day, what makes this movie funny is that it's not punching down, it's punching up. Also, it's ok to just let go and laugh sometimes. It's very funny!
I don’t know how people don’t pick that up…
@@joshhunt4146I think that people see or hear something & critical thought & logic just fly out the window & the knee-jerk reaction flies into their head. Once that opinion is formed, it becomes very difficult to remove it, even with logic.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 i have never known anyone to be critical of it tho… Iv only known of people to not understand the satire and celebrate the fact that RDJ used black face… almost like a green light to be racist
''Let go and just laugh'' a term too many today don't understand, or just don't want to understand and make everything more difficult..
Yeah and in the modern day nobody is offended by this film so it gets annoying when somebody implies that this film will get canceled
Movie is a 9.5 or higher for me. Every joke hits as hard as it did when I saw it in theaters. Every actor played their character perfectly and they all go through solid arcs. I still say “who left the fridge open?” when it’s randomly freezing one day.
I love that Matt McConaughey’ agent character immediately goes into damage control when he thinks Stiller killed a hooker 😂
He really is guy who takes his job seriously in this movie
Come on, man! Amanda?!? That's probably not even her real name!
Ride or die right there!
That's because it's probably really a thing in Hollywood, so he is spoofing it.
Which is why it is soooo funny
😂 Funny
Dont worry if this movie couldn't be made today, its already been made. Also to quote the great Mel Brooks "we couldn't make it then either but we did it."
Exactly. They say that every decade or so and then someone comes along and makes another movie that people didn't think could be done.
As Quentin Tarantino once said when someone said to him 'they' won't let him do the Movies he did back in the day, today. "Who the fuck are they?"
And I agree, Collateral is an amazing movie! Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx are perfect!
Yup! Can't just shove aside that movie. One of Tom Cruise's greatest performances. I really hope they do end up watching it.
10:25 holdens continued laughter while Jen is just agasp, is what had me dying
Aghast*
@@the_ZAMURAI thanks.
Edit: no wait, agasp is litteraly a Word. It is what i meant: In a state of gasping
If anyone think this movie should be canceled, watch it completely and if you still think that after, you definitely didn't undertand it ^^
This
imagine thinking that's a genuine concern and thinking that's what your'e supposed to focus on....
There was an "outrage" on Twitter last year(or the year before), but people shut them down pretty quickly 😀
Those who cancel rarely have a clue about humor.
This is Tom Cruise's best role ever. I wish he'd have gotten his own movie spinoff, I'd totally watch that. 🤣
The Tom Cruise spinoff of this movie was in development.But Tom Cruise had a ton of other films in development that he chose to do.
@thedragonlee76 Wow, never knew that. That's a shame, it would have been absolutely hilarious.
I would argue his best role is Edge of Tomorrow - still waiting for a sequel there too
But seriously.
A nutless monkey could do your job 😅😅😅😅
@@Jackalos1There's a script. No word on if and/or when it's gonna be shot.
This is one of your best reaction videos. Jens face combined with Holdens non stop wheezing is golden.
Nooo freaking way, just thought about this today. Wouldn’t it be cool if Jen and Holden would react to tropic thunder? And than BAM, 2 hours later the video is out! 😂
actually tom cruise thinking about sequel :D
Bro same I just thought about it the other day
@@xmatobujnakx that would be sick!
As I recall it was Tom Cruise's idea to do the character that way. Stiller approached him and he said he would do it if he could do him that way.
That's correct
he said he wanted him to have big sausage hands and dance. lol
Apparently he did it to poke fun of Harvey Weinstein in particular
@@Putrefax Makes sense, I can see that.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Holden laugh this hard before 😂
😂 funny
"I'M THE DUDE PLAYING THE DUDE DISGUISED AS ANOTHER DUDE!"
RDJ should have won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
well, he almost did. Lost to Heath Ledger's Joker
@@HABO2210 Funnily enough, RDJ will likely be a strong contender this year for a Nolan film (OPPENHEIMER).
not in year of Heath Ledger
As a black man I love RDJ's role and performance in this movie. Its just fun
I’m a black man too. That was hilarious. “What do you mean you people?” “What do YOU mean you people?” 😂😂😂
Amazing to watch his wife trying to avoid feeling shameful for enjoying this movie. Hell, Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. 15 years later I defy you to find many people of any race who were offended by this movie. Just watched the interviews with Jamie Foxx about it.
Fun fact: Robert Downey Jr stayed in Character for the DVD Commentary
It’s magnificent
@@Szydel1991 The physical copy is a must-own. Especially the uncut version.
@@Joe-hh8gd oh I’ve bought this movie on dvd, Blu-ray an 4k now! The extended edition adds just that little extra if you love the film!
@@Szydel1991 The stabbed panda was one addition I liked. I laughed, though I guess not everyone would.
Jen's face, when Ben threw the kids off his back, was priceless.
Kid deserved it 😂
One of the funniest Movie ever. RDJ and Tom Cruise are killing it.
Lines from this movie still randomly pop up into my head. This movie is hilarious.
Way to many quotables in this movie 😂😂
@@jfreitag88 Mine random line is "For 400 years..." in his voice😂
“I’m a rooster illusion.”
I'm a lead farmer motherfucker
For 400 years that word has kept us down..
In his tone
Immediately clicked off a different video when I saw this posted - SO excited to see Jen’s reaction to this truly *bonkers* movie!!
Such a fun movie and reaction. The difference in reactions to the Steve Coogan blowing up scene had me laughing along with Holden
Tropic Thunder is such a classic movie. Surprised Jen had never seen it before!
RDJ just casually gives one of the greatest comedic performances of all time 😂
Not only did everybody give Downey a pass for this film, he was actually nominated for Best Supporting Actor only to lose out to Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight.
I was actually watching this the other day. My wife and I were discussing how amazing EVERYONE is in this movie. Such an incredible cast.
RDJ got nominated for his role multiple times 😂 and it was rightfully so. He was amazing in this movie.
I remember loving this movie growing up, and the funny MTV movie awards (remember mtv?) that had a funny promo of Jack Black with a kung fu panda head being kicked in the nuts by Iron Man
🤌 when tom cruise came out in full make up did a whole performance and even danced with jlo
Fun fact about tropic thunder when Ben stiller hired Tom cruise for the part he wasn’t supposed to be fat or have those big arms it was Tom cruise idea. Ben stiller questioned the idea but once he saw what Tom cruise was going for he loved it.
We need more movies like this. I love that they did a commentary of stuff and were not scared of anything. Reading the comments here, everyone loves this movie!
The way Holden was cracking up at everything at the beginning is totally me 😅😂
I'm with you Holden. This movie is a solid 9 and still one of the best comedies ever made.
I remember there were protests outside my local theater over Simple Jack. When my friend and I went to see it, there was a group behind us that said they were planning to see something else, but the protest made them want to see Tropic Thunder instead.
Rascist will always choose to watch rascist movies. The group must be kkk
I've seen this film over 10 times, and it still makes me LMAO! They ain't got the stones to make em like this anymore!
those involved in this movie on set must've had a hell of a good time. there must be tons of improv footage left at the cutting room floor.
Everyone always says 'you couldn't make this movie today' but I'm a bit older than you and that's what people thought before this came out too! It was a genuine shock as it didn't so much push the limits (which existed even then) as just ignore them completely, but do it in the right way and so well that they carried it off. I remember the review I read at the time took some time on 'this is so offensive it shouldn't work' but honestly it's okay. No, really'. There was a lot of surprise at the time.
For me one it is in my top 10 favourite comedies ever made. Yet sadly this probably a type of film we will never see being made again. Love the cast, the jokes always hits and the writing is unbelievably clever with what it is trying to get across. To me it is a classic as so many people still laugh and quote it today years later.
As a POC what RDJ did here was brilliant. It maybe one of the best comdies to me because of him and the balls to even do this. If any one understands the comedy here and the satire going on with his character can understand that he gets a pass.
Exactly. The most important part is, that it isn't RDJ who plays a black man, but the character RDJ plays, plays a black man! It's the very important distinction that turns it from "not cool" to "funny take on method acting gone too far".
not sure if calling yourself colored (POC) is more racist towards yourself or towards white people...
It's literally the only way you could possibly do this, and he goes so all in on it it's insane.
Im a white guy, But I left a comment about this, Ill paste it here:
People are acting like there was some huge backlash when there wasnt. There was some, but not a lot. Look at Kidd Rock freaking out over a trans person on a budlight can. stupid.
RDJ is playing a white character, doing an offensive thing, and the movie calls him out on this by having a actual black person in the movie next to him calling him on his bullshit.
In the movie Blackkklansman, Topher Grace (white actor)plays the leader of the KKK. In Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a WILDLY racist man who uses the N-word. These guys dont get backlash, because they are not portrayed by the movie in a positive light. The message of the movie is that they are bad.
In Tropic Thunder, RDJs CHARACTER (not RDJ) is doing a cliche, stereotypical and racist imitation of a black person, and the movie makes it clear. they have a black man standing next to him saying "what do you mean you people" and "Not all black people eat collard greens".
Thats why its not offensives.
I would say the Simple Jack storyline is more unempathic, and lacking nuance, and has mentally handicapped people as the butt of the joke more than RDJs character.
@@luminousdragon and even then, it's about the actor's acting ability to play the character of Jack and how HE just goes over the top, too.
Edge of Tomorrow is a great Tom Cruise film that's worth a watch. My personal favorite of his. He shows a lot of range in his acting ability, and the movie's concept is really solid
He’s not the only person to ‘get away’ with playing another race. Ghandi was played by Ben Kingsley. Mandela was played by Morgan Freeman.
As far as I can recall, the blackface thing didn't really come up, even at the time, Ben Stiller let the NAACP preview it just in case and they were fine with it. And doubtful wouldn't create problem now or in the future because Robert Downey Jr's perform was so good that you can't fault anything about it. And that's putting aside that he IS *playing a guy wearing blackface,* and not playing a black guy in the movie using blackface. Huge difference.
100% honesty here. I.. high seas'd this. After 15 minutes I stopped it and called my brother to meet me at the theater to watch it on the big screen.
Years ago, I was in a film camp and though I prefer filmmaking, I decided to try acting and had to do a mock audition using any monologue of my choosing. I used Tom Cruise's monologue where he screams through the phone. Unfortunately, I'm not great at acting while being stared at by 20 people judging me.
Jack Black interviewed with another youtuber and stated that Tropic Thunder was so exhausting. He said that the film location was out in the middle of nowhere. They had to travel on rough bouncy road for like 3 hrs before they were even able to shoot then travel the 3 hrs back.
Robert Doeney Jr. was nominated an Academy Award for his work. Also, this film came out in the same year as the first Iron Man, so RDJ had a great year.
As a black person, I can honestly say I have ZERO PROBLEM with RDJ playing this role. I take no offense at all. 😀
Never seen Holden laughing so hard 😂
Watching this movie with you and Jen is sooo much fun 😂😂😎
I love every second of this. Glad you enjoyed Reggie Lee playing the Flaming Dragon negotiator. (I love him as Wu on Grimm.)
You and Jen have to watch more 2000 era Ben Stiller movies. Dodgeball, Zoolander are such classics!
I'm not a huge Zoolander fan, but Dodgeball is one of my go-to comedies for a weekend afternoon. That movie is so watchable.
Collateral is a brilliant movie. And one of my all time favourites.
Not the only time RDJ has played an Australian - he also played an Aussie in Natural Born Killers.
And, as an Australian, I'm not at all offended at my nation being portrayed by RDJ
Summed up in three words: "Oh my goodness" and the follow-up facial expression @ 23:48
The great thing about the line "Man I don't drop character till I done the DVD commentary," is that if you watch Tropic Thunder with the commentary on, RDJ does the whole thing in character..
To this day my friends and i will still randomly quote lines from this movie. Absolutely hilarious
The landmine scene is just comedy gold.. Perfect execution..! First the extensive explanation by the director, followed by him saying “Let’s go make the greatest warmovie ever!” Then him turning around, the click of the mine arming, him looking down and going “Oh..” in a manner that would rather suit dropping your car keys than realising you stepped on a mine. Kabooom! All of em standing flabbergasted and silent… 10 out of 10 score
I’m only at the scene where the director exploded on the land mine and I’m dying laughing with Holden.. lol ur wife’s face from the beginning of the movie is priceless so far. She just looks like she’s in shock of what’s going on lol great reaction
Tropic thunder should be a list of top 100 movies you need to see before you die.
I am so glad you guys watched this movie, its a key part of my childhood haha
The references are coming even a decade and a half later
I LOVE holden laughing at the little moments that are easy to miss and understanding the nuanced humour being referenced with RDJs storyline
I WISH they could make another movie as Raunchy as Tropic Thunder again.
Why can’t they?
It's not even a raunchy movie. Usually when I see this take, I just assume it means "why can't we do blackface anymore?"
@RussiantoIndiait’s funny only cause RDJ
@RussiantoIndiacontext?
It will just take one that does really well for more studios to take the risk. It’s a no brainer in our eyes but the studios need to see that no matter what people say the numbers don’t lie lol
I really enjoyed watching Tropic Thunder as it’s one of my favorite comedies😁😂🔥. The whole cast was great including Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, Mathew Mcconaughey, Tom Cruise, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Danny McBride etc👍. I loved Robert Downey Jr as Lazarus aka Lincoln Osiris, he was the funniest and it was controversial but it was just funny simple as that; “For 400 years….”😂🤣😁. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman is so iconic and hilarious as I adore him dancing which is iconic as well👏😂. Loved your reaction/analysis, take care and have a good one♥️
Robert Downey Jr’s best performance since Chaplin! This is one of only two movies that i can tolerate watching Tom Cruise aside from Rain Man because he’s freaking hysterical as Les Grossman in this film. I always consider it to be a gift from God because this was our only chance to see both Iron Man and Spider-Man in the same movie together. Tropic Thunder always has and will continue to make me happy. 🎬🎥😂
This is in fact the 2nd joint appearance of Robert Downey Jr. and Tobey Maguire (they first worked on WONDER BOYS (2000) together). In fact, Tobey's cameo in TROPIC THUNDER was an homage to that movie to an extent. WONDER BOYS has Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym from the MCU) in the lead role.
This is one of those few movies that still holds up. I still laugh just as hard as when I saw it in theaters. I’ve yet to meet someone that didn’t like this one.
Three Amigos was my favorite movie growing up, so it's no surprise that I loved this one as well. It's pretty much a remake.
I feel like a horrible person for not knowing that Jen is pregnant, even though I’ve been subbed for a while (and watched a lot of your back catalog😬) Well belated congratulations to you both! I hope everything goes smoothly, and everyone is healthy
Ever since I saw your schedule of releases this month. I've been looking forward to this one.
He actually did the DVD commentary in character while everyone else were just themselves. It was hilarious
I've never seen Holden laugh so hard....great movie, great reaction
I’m not sure who you think is coming for RDJ , but everyone I know loves him in this role.😊
One of the greatest comedies EVER.
We will never go after him for this except to give him flowers because he played that part! 😂
"Did he get any backlash for this?" "No, he got an Oscar nomination!"
If y’all like this y’all would love Dale and Tucker vs Evil. This reaction was so fun to watch i loved y’all’s reactions & I wish y’all the best for the baby on the way and the new experiences to come in your family.🥰🤣🥰
18:53 is the moment I was the only one who laughed out loud in the theatre. Glad to see Holden would have been laughing along with me lol
Backlash for Downey Jr? Heck, they even nominated him for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars! Even both, RDJ and Cruise were nominated for Golden Globes! And if I may at, IMO deservedly so!
Actually when Tom Cruise got the script, he said he wanted to have fat hands and he wanted to dance. He also added his character to the script and rewrote a lot of it himself. He added the whole studio side of the script to the movie and said it would make the movie a way funnier. And it did.
Lord I am crying at Jen’s reaction when the director blew up 😂😂
10:19
and RDJ was still in character in dvd commentary
Still think it's mental that RDJ was nominated Best supporting Actor at the Oscars for this 😅
This movie is downright hilarious gold!
But dangit, Holden. Why would you mention Tom Cruise is in it?
I can only imagine the audience's confusion with those trailers, brilliant!
Watching it in theatres, it flowed directly from the trailers to the fake trailers without any indication of a change. It was amazing
Other RDJ movies worth watching include Due Date and both Sherlock Holmes films. Other movies featuring Jay Baruchel include The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Knocked Up, She's Out of My League, This is the End and the RoboCop reboot
the moment when dark haired american actor plays blonde blue eyes australian actor who plays black man disguised as a vietnamese farmer is an absolute golden peak of golden age of hollywood that cannot be topped.
Not only did RDJ not get backlash at the time, he was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) for this role. My how Hollywood has changed in such a short time.
Except nothing has changed. RDJ won because it was a fantastic performance showing how stupid actors like his character are. That's the point.
@@MRocky323 He was nominated but he did not win. Heath Ledger won for his role as the Joker.
I don't know if it's been mentioned, but at the beginning of the movie, Ben Stiller's intro is an homage to Willem Dafoe in "Platoon." It was the poster and the VHS cover.
Anyone saying how RDJ‘s and Stillers roles are politically incorrect or that this movie wouldn‘t be made today misses the point. They are satirical in nature and the movie even points out how method actors don‘t really emerge in a role but behave how they think a group behaves, only furthering stereotypes. The movie was made surprisingly early for it‘s message
Jen: constantly trying to figure out if she should be offended
Holden: idgaf thats funny!
The character Tom Cruise plays was actually a character that he came up with himself. He told Ben Stiller he wanted to be in one of his movies and he described the character he wanted to play, including the dancing stuff.
I've never enjoyed seeing Holden laugh as much as I have in this reaction. I'll be sure to revisit whenever I'm needing of that hilarious energy.
this is the 3rd reaction vid for Tropic thunder i have seen this week
all are golden
The irony is that the people that say "this movie could not be made today" are usually the reason it can't be made today.
This is a great movie it's been a long time since I first saw it. I saw it with some friends back in about 2008. The movie makes fun of several war movies like Apocalypse Now, Platoon and The Deer Hunter just to name a few. When it comes to this movie think of a modern day Blazing Saddles from Mel Brooks.
Robert Downey Jr. not only got away with it. But he got nominated for an oscar! Best actor in a supporting role! A freakin Oscar nom! It would never happen nowadays.
"I'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude!" 😂 That joke has so many layers to it.
Saw this movie in theaters, and it was a trip trying to figure out if booty sweat and the following trailers were real movie trailers or… apart of the movie. It was a seamless transition.
While on the Tom Cruise theme Last Samurai is wildly underrated! And arguably his best acting role
This movie is a classic. What made me laugh is Ben Stiller's character is carrying a M4 Carbine in a Vietnam movie. The M4 Carbine wasnt introduced in the U.S arsenal until 2007ish. Lol.
Id like to think that it was poking fun at the inaccuracy of war movies and their weapon sets lol..
One of the greatest meta comedies ever.
I’m glad This movie exists. I can’t wait for them to make a sequel