Line #20 YMMV/TropicThunder


1	* AluminumChristmasTrees: In the ''Satan's Alley'' spoof trailer, Tobey Maquire is referred to as "MTV Movie Award Best Kiss Winner Tobey Maguire". This seems like a parody of movies trying to talk up their leads, no matter how obscure or undeserving they may be, but it is actually a reference to [[https://www.eonline.com/photos/24761/mtv-movie-tv-awards-best-kiss-nominees-over-the-years#:~:text=Kirsten%20Dunst%20and%20Tobey%20Maguire%20won%20Best%20Kiss%20in%202003,being%20her%20%22best%20kiss.%22 a real award]] that Tobey Maguire won in 2003 for the upside-down kiss in ''[[Film/SpiderMan1 Spider-Man]]''.
2	* AwardSnub: The scene-stealing performance of Creator/TomCruise as Les Grossman never even got a mention at the [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]].
3	* CrazyIsCool: Kirk Lazarus' method acting is taken to truly insane extremes, but not only has he won five Oscars, he winds up proving himself to be a legitimate badass.
4	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
5	** The script called for Tran's tattoo on his chest to be of a "flaming dragon raping a monkey, raping a skull, raping a rat."
6	** All of the mock commercials. In particular, Alpa's "Booty Sweat" energy drink and Portnoy's ''Fatties'' film series, which appears to be basically an endless succession of fart jokes.
7	** Just the whole ''idea'' of Kirk Lazarus and his style of MethodActing. A white American actor playing a black man is horribly offensive and outdated.... But a white American actor playing a white Australian actor going full-on as an ''African''-American, and ''lecturing an'' '''''actual''''' ''African-American on the dangers of NWordPrivileges'' is some kind of twisted genius. And it's taken further when he later masquerades as an Asian to infiltrate Flaming Dragon's camp, ''while still wearing his {{blackface}}''.
8	** Les Grossman lives and breathes this trope and every other sentence that comes out of his mouth is either criminally intimidating or outrageously offensive, often both. He gets away with it because he's just so over-the-top hilarious.
9	** Damien Cockburn stepping on a landmine and blowing up? Shocking. Speedman picking up his head and playing with it, with members of Flaming Dragon saying that the actors appear to have no fear of death when watching that happen? Hilarious in the wrongest of ways.
10	** The infamous "full retard" scene wouldn't be as hilarious as it was if it weren't also ''completely true.''
11	* DracoInLeatherPants: Les Grossman. A foul-mouthed, greedy {{jerkass}} executive producer who leaves one of his actors to die at the hands of a gang, yet became so popular and beloved that he will even get to be the focus of a possible sequel!
12	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Creator/TomCruise's character surprisingly steals the entire movie as the most badass producer ever filmed. It's pretty damn hard to top a rant like the "'''[[AtomicFBomb FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!!!]]'''" speech. Even more hilarious is the guy's expression on the other side of the telephone.
13	* FairForItsDay: The film's use of the word "retard" is far less acceptable today than it was in the 2000s. However, the gist of Kirk Lazarus' "full retard" speech is ''mocking'' the objectification of mentally challenged people for the sake of winning an Oscar, with Kirk spelling out to Tugg that his "Simple Jack" character would've been better received if he were ''more'' than just a mentally challenged person.
14	* FountainOfMemes: Les Grossman and Kirk Lazarus. And even without them, there's still a plethora of memorable lines and moments from characters like Speedman, Portnoy, Cockburn, and others that have spawned many more memes.
15	* GeniusBonus:
16	** The song that plays while Lazarus and Maguire suggestively fondle each other's rosaries and react to each other is no generic techno track. It's "Sadeness (Part 1)" by Music/{{Enigma}}, a chart-topping single from 1990. Its use is no coincidence: The song, in French with Gregorian chants in Latin, criticizes the sexual and religious views of the legendary Creator/MarquisDeSade, the French nobleman known as a figure of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution for his utterly pornographic and blasphemous works. When he wasn't screwing everything with a hole in it -- or in some cases [[BodyHorror making holes for himself to screw]] -- he was blaspheming against the Catholic Church. Far from being generic, the choice of music had to be deliberate.
17	** {{Blackface}} has never been considered as offensive in Australia as it is in America since it never had significant demographics of Africans the latter nation had, and as late as 2009 would occasionally show up (used ironically) on network television. Bearing that in mind, Kirk Lazarus -- an Australian man -- not seeing a problem with performing an entire film as an African-American is surprisingly accurate.
18	** Alpa Chino calls Kirk Lazarus the N-word knowing full well that he's using it to refer to a white Australian in {{blackface}}. Those familiar with Jackie Robinson's defense at his court martial during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII will understand that Alpa is trying to call Lazarus "a low, uncouth person" for daring to play a person of color on film. Of course, this causes Lazarus to snap right back into character just after Alpa had baited him with some racist remarks of his own against Australians -- and remind Alpa what the word ''really'' means ("For 400 years, that word has kept us down!").
19	* HarsherInHindsight:
20	** Tom Cruise's performance as Les Grossman is hilarious. Then you remember his notoriously close relationship with Scientology leader David Miscavige, who has been accused of such behavior with a side of assault on his own underlings. [[Literature/GoingClear And Cruise has been accused of copying that behavior]].
21	** While Grossman's foulmouthed {{Jerkass}} attitude could be a reference to a ''lot'' of film producers (WordOfGod claims he's an amalgamation of several real-life producers), Les Grossman comes across uncannily like [[Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany Harvey Weinstein]] due to a similar physical appearance (being balding, overweight, and having a scraggy beard), reputation for producing Oscar-winning movies, and aforementioned attitude. Then the 2017 sexual assault cases happened. Combining that with Harvey's tendency to edit films without the approval of their directors, Grossman comes off as the ''nice'' version of Weinstein.
22	** Les Grossman came to more than a few people's minds in December of 2020, when Cruise was recorded on the set of ''Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning'' raging and shouting at two crew members who slipped up and broke UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic production guidelines; it's hard not to hear it without picturing it coming out of Grossman's mouth.
23	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Robert Downey Jr.'s character has won several oscars within the movie but his actor had never won a real one before the film's release. He would be nominated for one in this movie but did not win. Come the 2024 Oscars, he would finally win Best Supporting Actor for his role in Film/{{Oppenheimer}}.
24	* HilariousInHindsight:
25	** Less than two years after the film was released, the very white Creator/GerardDepardieu was cast to play the author Creator/AlexandreDumas (who had an African grandparent and was known to his friends as "Le Negre") in a biopic. Sure enough, they added a fair bit of makeup to him.
26	** The "full retard" speech is hilarious for the fact that Creator/SeanPenn won a Oscar (albeit not for a handicapped person, but still) the same year the film was released. Then Creator/RobertDowneyJr. himself got a nomination for his role in this film. And then Downey immediately went on to make a movie where he played a character trying to nurture an InspirationallyDisadvantaged cellist in ''Film/TheSoloist''.
27	** "Everyone's gay once in a while! This is Hollywood!". Creator/TomHardy apparently [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/inception-star-tom-hardy_n_662907.html shares this opinion]].
28	** The "I'm a dude" line (again by RDJ's character) ends up as this thanks to two of his subsequent roles: [[spoiler:first was his "stealthy" pursuit (fake nose and all)]] in ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes\|2009}}'', and second was [[spoiler:with the reveal of Iron Man's [[MetaMecha Hulkbuster]] armor]] in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''.
29	** The "Satan's Alley" trailer, where Downey's character carries an illicit relationship with a character played by Creator/TobeyMaguire, best known for his portrayal of ComicBook/SpiderMan in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', is even funnier after ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' had Downey's character Iron Man acting as a mentor to Spider-Man (albeit with the latter having changed actors).
30	*** Even more hilarious is that Creator/TobeyMaguire joins the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse through ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', as the very same ComicBook/SpiderMan from the Raimi Trilogy.
31	*** The premise of the trailer also shared one of the stories from ''VideoGame/{{Pentiment}}'', [[spoiler:which one of them involved Andreas’ discovery of two SecretlyGay monks during his murder investigations]].
32	** Tugg Speedman killed a ''panda'' and was kidnapped by a group called "Flaming ''Dragon''." This film is distributed by [=DreamWorks=] and stars both Creator/JackBlack and Creator/JayBaruchel, both of whom went on to voice the main characters in two of [=DreamWorks=] Animation's most successful franchises, ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' and ''Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon'' respectively.
33	** Cody mentions having almost blinded Creator/JamieLeeCurtis during the filming of ''Film/FreakyFriday2003''. Creator/DannyMcBride later worked with her in ''Film/Halloween2018''.
34	** In this film, Tugg Speedman regretfully killed a panda. When he called his manager with his mobile phone about what happened, his manager heard wrong and thought that Tugg "killed Amanda" and he wore the Panda's head as a hat. In the "[[Recap/WeBareBearsS3E17SummerLove Summer Love]]" episode of ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'', Panda returned a phone to a girl named Amanda, who wears a lot of panda-themed accessories including a hat, and she noted how their names sound alike.
35	** Creator/JackBlack's Jeff Portnoy character is famous for appearing in films eerily similar to those made by Creator/AdamSandler and his "Happy Madison Gang". Almost ten years later, Black appeared in ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', whose comedic tone was closer to a Sandler comedy than anything Black had done previously.
36	*** Additionally, one of the characters Jeff Portnoy plays in ''The Fatties'' is a BrattyTeenageDaughter. Jack Black would later get praise from critics for his ability to play a teenage girl ([[GenderBender who occupies a video game avatar with Black's appearance]]) in ''Jumanji''.
37	** A failed attempt at AwardBait, starring a neurotypical actor as an InspirationallyDisabled character, becoming infamous for portraying poorly-researched, offensive and harmful stereotypes about the mentally handicapped. Are we talking about ''Simple Jack'', or ''Film/Music2021''?
38	* LoveToHate: Les Grossman. How could you not love a [[HairTriggerTemper loud-mouthed]], [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] [[{{Jerkass}} asshole]] played by no other than '''Creator/TomCruise'''?
39	* MemeticMutation:
40	** "I'M A LEAD FARMER, MOTHERFUCKER!"
41	** "You just went ''full'' retard, man. ''Never'' go full retard," and by extension, the use of "Never go full X," (example: "Never go full [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Umbrella Corporation]]") snowclones.
42	** "'''I KNOW WHO I AM!''' I'm a dude playin' a dude disguised as another dude!"
43	** "What do you mean, 'you people?'" "What do ''you'' mean, 'you people?'"
44	** Alpa Chino's Booty Sweat and Bust-A-Nut commercials.
45	** "These are MY FUCKING JELLYBEANS!"
46	** "You m-m-m-m-m-m-make me happy"
47	** Cockburn's whole speech to the actors [[spoiler: [[DivinePunishment right before he gets blown up]]]].
48	** "We're supposed to be a unit", "'''Suck''' my unit!"
49	** A rather [[BlackHumor dark]] meme spread after Creator/ChadwickBoseman's untimely death, when people joked that they should recast Robert Downey Jr. as the ComicBook/BlackPanther, making various edits in which Kirk Lazarus' face is photoshopped onto images of Prince T'Challa.
50	* MisaimedFandom: Creator/RobertDowneyJr's performance as Kirk Lazarus has become a catch-all excuse for white apologists of racial insult humor to defend the use of {{Blackface}} in entertainment. This completely ignores that Kirk's use of blackface is portrayed InUniverse as a ''bad thing'' -- Alpa Chino, an actual black man, is completely offended that the only major African-American part in the film went to a white Australian, and repeatedly calls Lazarus out on his thoroughly insensitive portrayal.
51	* MisBlamed: Inverse to the above, many teenagers in TheNewTwenties who had just discovered the film were notoriously offended by Downey's performance without understanding that one of the major points of the character is to ''criticise'' white actors who attempt to play non-white characters and take roles that should be played by equally deserving actors of color away from them (and, like the previous example, seem to ignore not only Alpa Chino's in-universe outrage but the news report saying that the blackface donned by Kirk was controversial). In fact, several black journalists and even the NAACP ''praised'' the film on its release for this very reason.
52	* MoralEventHorizon: Les Grossman crosses it when he gives Flaming Dragon the go-ahead to kill Tugg Speedman so he can earn some insurance claims.
53	* NauseaFuel: Speedman playing with [[spoiler:Cockburn's]] head. Literally.
54	-->'''Tugg:''' ''[regarding [[spoiler:Cockburn's blood]], which he thinks is fake]'' It's CORN SYRUP GUYS! Corn syrup and latex. ...Warm... blood-flavored... corn syrup.
55	* RetroactiveRecognition: A post-''Series/DrakeAndJosh''/pre-''Series/{{Community}}'' Creator/YvetteNicoleBrown in a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as Peck's secretary whom he blocks out of his call with Tugg.
56	* SignatureLine: "I'm a dude playin' a dude disguised as another dude".
57	* SignatureScene: Kirk Lazarus' "full retard" speech. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Quite possibly the funniest moment in the film, and without a doubt the most controversial]].
58	* SpecialEffectFailure: While the effects, both practical and CGI, are mostly effective, it's not hard to to see the panda that Tugg kills as nothing more than a bad taxidermy.
59	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The InUniverse movie being made is about a rescue mission in Vietnam. Out of universe, this could actually be the basis for a drama, especially since in the opening scene, the action scenes are done so well, it really does feel like a Vietnam war movie.
60	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
61	** The [=TiVo=] being a premium gift. Nowadays it is all but forgotten as most cable or satellite boxes come with a built-in PVR, not to mention the fact most current (or at least recent) TV shows are readily available in streaming and VOD services has pretty much killed off one of the device's main selling points.
62	** Kirk Lazarus takes method acting to the point of {{blackface}}. He's also noted for being particularly rowdy off-camera (this was from a time Downey was still primarily known for this[[note]]While ''Iron Man'' was released months earlier, people still had doubts about his future[[/note]]). While the blackface was portrayed as controversial at the time, by the next decade it's quite simply not something any self-respecting actor (or studio) would allow to be in a film. Celebrities began to avoid the rowdy party scene following the career meltdowns of people such as Creator/LindsayLohan.
63	*** Even the concept of MethodActing itself would face a growing backlash in TheNewTwenties, especially for cases where it's perceived as an excuse to mistreat others or be needlessly provocative. The aforementioned blackface stunt would be definitely seen as the latter these days and Kirk Lazarus would not be nearly as respected for such methods today.
64	** Jeff Portnoy is a popular actor appearing in raunchy comedies, a genre which fell out of favor in TheNewTens. His struggle with drug abuse would also probably be seen in a different light were the film made later.
65	** Alpa Chino is a "glam" rapper. The GlamRap genre saw a decline in popularity following the 2008 financial crisis.
66	** We have cameos by Creator/TobeyMaguire, Creator/TyraBanks, and Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt. While the three of them were big during the early and mid-2000s, they were already fading from the spotlight by 2008.
67	** The "'Full Retard' speech" scene dates the film somewhat, as into the 10s the insult became increasingly rare in media.
68	** One of Kirk's OscarBait drama films features him playing a gay Irish Catholic priest in a seminary. TheNewTwenties has seen the practice of heterosexual actors playing gay characters face some criticism by some people who perceive it to be taking away opportunities for gay actors to tell their own stories.
69	** The entirety of the Simple Jack film is riddled with this as, like the {{blackface}} it was even controversial at the time in the film. Being such an offensive caricature of a mentally handicapped man would've annihilated Tugg Speedman's career if it came out in TheNewTwenties. Case in point, ''Film/Music2021''
70	* WinBackTheCrowd:
71	** Creator/TomCruise's performance in this film played a big role in helping him bounce back from the laughingstock he'd become as Hollywood's primary Scientology mouthpiece in the previous few years.
72	** Creator/RobertDowneyJr as well, as this, ''Film/IronMan1'', and ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes\|2009}}'' are considered to be the films that made him undergo a CareerResurrection.

Context YMMV / TropicThunder