Review of "Tropic Thunder"

Of course, Lazarus's attempts at "becoming" a Southern black man are responsible for some of the most potentially offensive moments of the film, and luckily the cast's legitimately African-American man, Alpa Chino (Jackson) is there to remind him that he's essentially a blackface idiot. But the two actually grow to understand one another a bit, and late in the film during a campfire discussion about how Hollywood has basically ruined their chances of having romantic lives, Chino lets slip that he's in love with someone ... named "Lance".

Brandon T. Jackson

The other guys react as you might expect to the news that hip-hop's most notoriously girl-crazy figure is actually gay, and he is quick to try to take back what he said. But as Lazarus points out, "Hey, everybody's gay sometime, this is Hollywood!" Portnoy (who is at this point in the throes of detox and has been tied to a tree to protect him from himself) then makes a graphically detailed offer to Chino of what he would do for him to be set free, which thankfully Chino does not dignify with a reply.

The interesting thing about Chino's coming out is that for once it's not telegraphed in the least, except possibly in the sense that it would be a good twist to make his character gay. There are no jokes about his character having an unusual interest in the other men, no flamboyant slip-ups, no macho overcompensation, and no Ambiguously Gay Duo-style physical gags that make the other guys go, "Huh?"

In other words, he's not a joke. In fact, he's a very savvy, incredibly intelligent, and brave man who stands up to a 5-time Oscar winner for making racist comments and fights alongside the other men with equal bravado and courage. Yes, he's closeted, but that's clearly a commentary on Hollywood and the roles it forces upon gay men who choose to work within its rules, not on him as a person. He's not the least bit conflicted in his sexuality, he's just a man who made a choice to hide it in order to become rich and famous.

By the end of the film we learn that Jackson (who saves his co-stars' butts several times without a single queen-out, scream, or other sissy moment) has chosen to live openly as a gay man and in the closing Oscar ceremony it is revealed exactly who "Lance" is. (I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.) It's a charming resolution, and it's great to see that it's not his character's sexuality that is viewed as something that he needs to overcome; it's the fact that he's not being true to himself (his character arc is similar to Portnoy's, who ends up overcoming drug addiction).

So what we have here, in the end, is a very funny Hollywood story featuring a gay black central character who doesn't have to mince around or terrify the straight characters by coming on to them, who stands up for himself and his race, and who ultimately makes the brave decision to come out as gay and is rewarded for it.

If only this weren't a satire.

Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller

Photos credit Getty Images/Andrew Walker/Jon Kopaloff

As I mentioned earlier, the film is full of fun surprises like this, thanks to Stiller and co-writer Justin Theroux. It's interesting to note that Stiller, who has made a career playing dumb or put-upon guys in broad comedies, actually has a long history of handling gay issues and themes with nuance and care. His directorial debut, Reality Bites, featured Steve Zahn in a central role as a gay man whose friends support him in coming out to his mom (including a hilarious scene where Janeane Garofalo role-plays with him), and films that he's produced such as Blades of Glory have notably played against homophobic humor (although he misstepped considerably with Dodgeball, which was roundly criticized for gay-panic jokes).

As I said, not all the surprises are good ones. When my friend and I exited the screening we were surprised to find that the movie had been less than two hours long; thanks to a sagggy side-plot involving the drug smugglers, things do slow down considerably in the middle but rally for a big finish.

And as much as I hate to say it, Tom Cruise — on board to play the most toxic Jewish stereotype in the history of motion pictures — is incredibly funny as studio boss Les Grossman. Seriously, I want the guy to go away so I can hate his anti-gay Scientologist ways as much as you do, so it hurts me to have to admit I found him hilarious.

Overall, Tropic Thunder is a great late-summer comedy full of laughs, cameos, explosions, cutting digs at the establishment, and features one of the most unique and well-conceived gay characters to hit screens all year. And really, if you're not into all that, you can't miss Downey's performance as either his oversensitive Australian method actor or his Southern-fried African-American creation. It's a performance that will go down in history.

Tropic Thunder opens nationwide on Wednesday, August 13th