I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary

[thehefner]

Know what's special? Watching the Director's Cut of TROPIC THUNDER with commentary by Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr... in character as Kirk Lazarus in character as Lincoln Osiris.

God, this movie's far from perfect, and yet I love it so. And goddamn, RDJ's so brilliant it makes me sick. If Daniel Day-Lewis ever did a special THERE WILL BE BLOOD commentary in character, I may have to commit actor seppuku.

Comments

[torberg.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that he's great at it, but I've never been keen on in-character DVD commentary. It's what annoys me about the Buckaroo Banzai DVD; it maintains the fiction that the movie is a documentary about Buckaroo. Damnit, I was hoping to actually hear people talking about the actual making of the movie.

Oh well.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it'll help that you have Jack Black and Ben Stiller there playing off of him and cracking up the whole time. Also, Downey's in character, but he's in character as Downey, saying things from Downey's perspective but as Lazarus as Osiris, as opposed to "This really happened to me." So it's a bit different.

That said, I still haven't heard BUBBA HO-TEP's commentary of Bruce Campbell in character as Elvis, but hell, that has to be worth a listen, wouldn't you say?

[pondering-duck.livejournal.com]

I agree. I haven't listened to that many commentaries but I hate the ones where the director or actors are just laughing at how funny they are. Most people I know who listen to those things want to know about the background behind the movie not listen to celebrities complement themselves for two and a half hours.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Stiller adds nothing to this. He's about as humorless and stiff in real life as I'd imagined. And Jack Black is Jack Black, so your mileage may vary. There's definitely ass-kissing over actual substance here, don't get me wrong. And there are times when even Downey is just going, "Oh, this is funny," or "This guy was great," but he's doing it in the character's character's voice, so it takes on a surreal (perhaps even subversive?) side.

Which alone makes the commentary worth listening to.

[tragical-mirth.livejournal.com]

I think we may have talked about this, but I presume you've seen Rain of Madness, which is actually everything I was hoping Tropic Thunder would be.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

It totally is the UNDER THE HOOD to this movie, fulfilling what many people (including me, to an extent) wanted to actual movie to be.

That said, I think there's a lot in TROPIC THUNDER to appreciate it for what it *is*, especially coupled with RAIN OF MADNESS (and Justin Theroux doing a magnificent Herzog impression). TT holds up to repeat viewing surprisingly well, and the reinstated extra scenes definitely add to it.

[tragical-mirth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I was so sad that they took Steve Coogan out so early. I wanted to see him suffer a little more. :P

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

You're the second person I've heard to hold it against the film for taking Coogan out early. Clearly, I need to see more of him than just this and MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE.

[tragical-mirth.livejournal.com]

I have Hamlet 2 in the Netflix queue, but am likely to keep bumping it on until May.

[shadowlongknife.livejournal.com]

Dammit.

Now I have to buy this movie TWICE. I already have the standard edition.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Well, give it a rent if nothing else. As noted above, the commentary--by and large--is your standard ass-kissing and brownnosing and "this bit was great right here." But the difference is that Downey's doing it all in character in character, which adds a whole other layer right there, and is thus worth checking out on its own.

That said, if you haven't seen RAIN OF MADNESS yet, ohhhh man, do so! I think it's on disc 2, which I don't have, but you might still be able to get it free on iTunes.