I missed this from earlier. Robert Downey Jr in ‘blackface’ and now this nugget:
Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ”all the good ones are gone.”
Supposedly there is a scene where Matthew McConaughay’s character tells Stiller, "Hey at least you can give yours back" (referring to his own disabled child).
So, Tropic Thunder is supposed to be a satire on Hollywood, and in lampooning egotistical movie stars they repeatedly make fun of the disabled, adoption, child guerrilla warriors and have a major character in black face.
It opens today. Who’s seeing it? And does it work as a satire?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Harlow's Monkey 
I’m very, very curious to see whether it works. A reviewer I trust gave it 3 stars, so I might see it (though I’ll probably wait for Netflix).
The way I figure it, if it’s only satirizing the actors, it probably won’t be enough. However, if the focus is not only that, but the fact that Hollywood eats this shit up and loves nothing more than a feel-good fairy-tale version of serious issues so that they can say “Of course I care about the issues in adoption, I saw Juno, didn’t I?”… if Tropic Thunder is bold enough to viciously skewer that, it might be quite impressive. Anyway, at least they’re making fun adoption/disability/racism to say “Hey, yeah, it’s not funny — and it’s not funny when ‘serious’ movies pull this shit, either.”
Or the movie might suck. Hard to say.
I don’t know if it’ll work as satire. A friend saw the movie and said it was about much satire as Robin Hood Men in Tights was. I don’t think it is necessarily satire to just make fun of something. It takes a real careful balance of intelligent humor to subtly poke fun at the established movie genre.
Either way, I’ll most likely skip this film.
Having seen the movie, I think the actual line that Matthew M. says is “At least you can choose yours” as he looks at a picture of his disabled (or just sullen and overweight – it really isn’t clear from the picture or the context) teenage son.
Clarifying that point, the scenes in the movie that relate to adoption and parenting remain some of the most uncomfortable that I have seen in film in quite some time. While I would like to believe that the movie is skewering some of the attitudes regarding adoption and parenting – it is ultimately a bit too glib and subtle if in fact a skewering is intended. Though, I did laugh as Tugg Speedman’s adoption plan goes awry (hint, angry adoptee attacks! could be the subtitle of the scene that made me laugh thinking of all the adult adoptees I read and love).
I will be interested in hearing how others perceive this movie – I did believe that the film was trying to satirize much of what it presented and not just take easy shots. Though, I think it missed the mark as often as it hit it.