Sebbo and Tobler take on their first proper comedy, Tropic Thunder, starting with why they don’t think comedies get made like this anymore and how Ben Stiller came up with the idea on an Army boot camp. They go through the fake trailers, the Platoon spoof opening, Danny McBride, Robert Downey Jr’s Oscar-nominated turn, the binoculars scene and Tom Cruise as Les Grossman. They also take on the “can you make this today?” question and rank where it sits among the great comedies of the 2000s. Next week’s pick: Con Air.
0:00 – Intro: First Proper Comedy
1:13 – “Can You Make It Today?”
2:58 – Why the Film-Set In-Jokes Land
3:46 – Ben Stiller’s Awkward, Deluded Idiot
5:09 – How the Idea Started: Empire of the Sun Boot Camp
6:39 – The Three Fake Trailers
8:29 – Opening Scene & the Platoon Spoof
11:29 – Danny McBride
13:06 – The First 15 Minutes & Les Grossman Setup
17:14 – Favourite Sequence: Landmine & “I Know a Prop When I See One”
19:28 – “I Don’t Drop Character Until the DVD Commentary”
20:36 – The “Never Go Full” Speech & Simple Jack
23:19 – Robert Downey Jr’s Oscar Nomination
26:14 – Ben Stiller’s Delusion & the Panda Scene
30:15 – The Binoculars “Cut” Scene
34:00 – Les Grossman & Tom Cruise
36:47 – Defending Tom Cruise
41:13 – Simple Jack’s Rescue & the Flaming Barrel
45:04 – The Ending & Why the Quotes Last
46:46 – Can It Be Made Today?
50:12 – Ben Stiller as a Writer
51:37 – Ratings & Sebbo’s Top 2000s Comedies
56:04 – Next Up: Con Air
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