After reading amazing reviews and listening to many of my friends tell me what a horrible piece of crap it was, I saw Tropic Thunder last week. Honestly, I loved it. It was super offensive yes, but I think it would have been hard to shoot a movie with such an idea behind it without offending someone. It sounds bad, I know, but it also wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining had it not been so offensive.
What interests me is that controversy and protests surrounding the movie. Robert Downey, Jr., playing an African American soldier IN BLACKFACE is by FAR the most stereotypical portrayal I have seen in a long time. I figured this would be the main plot piece most offensive to the public, but it was Ben Stiller's portrayal as a mindless action hero actor attempting to find critical respect by playing a mentally challenged farm hand a movie previous to the fake Tropic Thunder. It astounds me that the public took offense to this but not to the character of Kirk Lazarus, a white Australian actor playing an African American soldier, completely with dialogue discussing "collard greens" and "you people".
