Tropic Thunder

Dir. Ben Stiller. 2008, 107 mins. U.S. DCP. With Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Danny McBride, Nick Nolte. Hollywood self-parodies are a dime a dozen, but Stiller’s pleasingly tasteless takedown of the industry—from egomaniacal actors to grotesque producers to the clichéd big-budget products themselves—is a riotous pleasure throughout. The film follows the making of a based-on-a-true-story Vietnam epic, which goes horribly wrong when its actors, the action star Tugg Speedman (Stiller), comedian Jeff Portnoy (Black), and Method-thespian-in-blackface Kirk Lazarus (an Oscar-nominated Downey Jr.), get ensnared in real-life danger with a drug cartel on the island where they’re shooting. Downey’s performance—hard to conceive of just seventeen years later—received the most praise, yet Cruise also made waves for his latex-assisted shocker of a performance as bald, hirsute, and profane studio head Leo Grossman, the most all-out comic performance in the actor’s career. 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.