C’mon Hollywood #174

… back off of Tropic Thunder!
by Sturdy

When I went to see TROPIC THUNDER over the weekend, I had to walk through about a dozen or so people picketing the film. There were about six or seven ret…err…mentally handicapped individuals running around the front screaming inaudible words while their caregivers chased after them, holding signs. Instead of looking like a picket line, it looked like something out of a weird 80’s horror movie. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of seeing how pathetic people can be when they feel the need to picket a two hour film.

Give me a break.

Thunder isn’t the first film to see picket lines outside the theater. The first film I remember (keep in mind I’m not quite 30 yet) is Scorsese’s LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. Wow. I was just a wee lad when it came out, but I still remember Christian groups lining up down the street to picket that one. There were even reports of violence towards anyone that went to see it. But a lot of films have been picketed or boycotted by various religious groups. It seems every couple of years, a movie will come out that gets all the religious folk in the world in a tizzy.

My favorite “R” word is “radioimmunoelectrophoreses”

That is one of the reasons I find it odd that Thunder is being boycotted by the mentally handicapped. At the risk of being insensitive, please try to help me understand something. It’s my understanding that the truly mentally handicapped people in the world have a disability that prevents them from understanding and comprehending things a normal adult would. Right? So, are there really that many mentally handicapped people paying to go see TROPIC THUNDER and then demanding a refund because they’re so offended? Or is this boycott being led by people that aren’t actually handicapped? (the last question was rhetorical).

It’s nice to see Downey back to being funny.

After watching the film, I think Ben Stiller has pulled off the ultimate joke on these ridiculous groups that claim to be “offended”. Seriously, he has made a fool out of a lot of people. Hopefully, the more intelligent movie-going crowd realizes that the whole film is one big slam towards actors…right? Robert Downey Jr. isn’t making fun of black people, he’s making fun of actors that get obsessed with their roles. Jack Black isn’t making fun of fat people, he’s making fun of lame comedians that use the same schtick over and over despite the fact it hasn’t been funny for decades. Ben wasn’t making fun of the mentally handicapped; he was making fun of talentless action stars that try to do dramas. If anyone should be picketing the film, it should be the SAG because they’re the only ones that got attacked in the film.

Lighten up, it’s just a funny movie.

Overall, people need to lighten up. Stop putting malicious intent where there’s just an attempt (and huge success) to be funny. TROPIC THUNDER is a riot and it shouldn’t offend anyone, other than the aforementioned actors. Stop embarrassing yourself by standing outside an f’ing movie theater, hoping to feel better about your life. It’s…well…retarded.