Now, obviously, that's Ben Stiller up front (looking like Zoolander and Rambo's bastard offspring), and that's Jack Black taking up the rear with a blonde dye-job (and some kick-ass shades). But who's that in the middle? If he looks familiar, readers, it's probably because his face is going to be everywhere this summer, including in the preceding post. That's right, folks! It's everyone's favorite Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr., in a hell of a make-up job.
Obviously, Downey will make a killing this summer with the Iron Man movie (and has already stated his willingness to do multiple sequels), so it's very intriguing to see him take a role that involves him wearing blackface. Such an act will no doubt lead to controversy, particularly due to the long history of racial tension that comes with the make-up. In the early days on cinema, white men wore blackface and became extremely stereotypical exaggerations on African-Americans. Indeed, sometimes even black actors were forced to wear blackface (like in D.W. Griffith's notorious epic Birth of a Nation) in order to emphasize and reinforce the stereotypes. In more recent times, attempts by white actors to "become" black were either laughably bad (Michael Richards in Whoops Apocalypse), outright criticized (Ted Danson's infamous Friars Club appearance), or a combination of the two (C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man).
So, it's safe to say that the tightrope Robert is walking here is an extremely thin and shaky one. There are already rumblings of potential outcry and protests, and we're still 5 months away from the movie's premiere. In the worst-case scenario, this could possibly affect even Iron Man's box office, depending on how far it goes. Sure, Robert Downey, Jr., is a hell of an actor, and should be a lot of fun to watch in Iron Man (as well as his brief appearance in The Incredible Hulk). I wonder if he took the role in Tropic Thunder because he knew his first film this summer was a guaranteed box-office smash, and maybe he wanted to try something a bit (read: very, very) different. Personally, I don't think this role will hurt the box office for either of the Marvel adaptations, but this movie could either be hurt by Robert Downey in blackface (for the aforementioned racial overtones) or could actually give the film a boost (simply for the "Oh, I have got to see this" factor). Even Mr. Downey himself said that it'll either be very successful and well-done, or "we're going to Hell". Either way, it's going to be a wild summer for Mr. Downey; just how wild depends upon what kind of reaction his performance in Tropic Thunder will elicit from the audience.
Maybe it would help if we discuss the plot a bit. A bunch of self-absorbed actors and crew go about making a movie about Vietnam. When the film goes over budget, the studio tries to shut down the production. However, the director (played by Steve Coogan) decides to go rogue, and keeps filming, eventually relocating the actors and crew deeper into the jungles of Southeast Asia, only for everyone to discover that they have now stepped into a literal war zone. So now the actors have to actually go to war. Downey does play a white actor, named Kirk Lazarus, who takes the role that was originally written for a black man, Sgt. Osiris. Of course, there is already another African-American in the cast (Brandon Jackson, formerly from BET), so I'm assuming there will be more than a few racially-motivated jokes tossed between the two characters. Granted, this could be funny, but I hope they didn't create Lazarus simply for that reason alone; there are few things in movies more frustrating than a character that's created simply to be provocative. As I said, it's still months away - there isn't even a formal trailer available - so a lot of this is all conjecture at this point. We shall see in August.
On the whole, the movie looks like it will be entertaining. The cast includes Stiller, Black, Coogan, Nick Nolte, and has cameos from, among others, Tobey Maguire and Tom Cruise. The website for the movie, http://www.tropicthunder.com/, has some funny clips from the film (NOTE: You do have to be 17 to see the site, though. Not my rule.) and gives a good overview of the film. I just worry that this racial issue will be the thing that draws all the publicity and attention, and not the film itself.
But hey, this is Hollywood. Any publicity is good publicity, right?
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2 comments:
Yes - anxiously awaiting this to hit theaters!!
It's all you guys on this one....I see it as Ben Stiller trying to keep up with the ridiculousness of Will Ferrell. While Stiller is the better comedian in my opinion -- doesn't have to rely on physical humor alone - his box office doesn't match Ferrell's lately...
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