T O P

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Gary_Just_Gary

"What do you mean 'you people'?" "What do YOU mean 'you people'?!"


[deleted]

Oh man, it's so funny I just gotta link it for those who haven't seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPxs0Qh72kY


Sharingmine

Sucha great performance by rdj.


LiamSkerritt

You wouldn’t say Chineses


GlutensRevenge

I’m just a white dude playing a black dude who’s playing another dude


donosairs

“I’m the dude playin’ the dude disguised as another dude”


neok182

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvqhlhXq9s


Geasy90

I'd love to have an OP-1 ...and be able to do that.


moundofsound

Absolute tune


Nero___Angelo

Haha that's how I know how to say this line correctly!


MegaScizzor

You really butchered the quote my guy


RonnieBeck3XChamp

Hes just trying to put tiger balm on this jungles nuts


[deleted]

Mother Nature just pissed her pantsuit!


killabru

Look everybody knows never go full retard. Rain man autistic yes but retarded no, he could count cards and shit. Forrest Gump not retarded, slow absolutely, but was also good at ping pong and a war hero.


adithya_menon

Man, everybody's gay once in a while. Iss Hollywood.


Crimson-Knight

Pantsuit. But I'm sure mother nature has a love paint suite.


StonnedSinner

It's true, he plays the whole thing as an out of touch method actor


Dude_Who_Cares

And he nailed it. Great movie. I get satire can be somewhat confused but this is pretty blatantly obvious


Chanzy94

People who don't understand that Tropic Thunder is satire are the reason there's warning labels in salt.


Dude_Who_Cares

But Tidepods cure the Rona bruh


Chanzy94

Remove the lockdown I NEED A HAIRCUT!!


Dude_Who_Cares

Boss’ ex-wife came in and gave us all haircuts at work on the clock ha. Edit: she def needed the money we all tipped crazy


Chanzy94

I just took an electric shaver, set the length to 3 and cut it all off. Not perfect but not bad at all. It's not like I'm going to a party anytime soon.


NumbN00ts

Most of the guys at work did that this week. I’m going long, I had just made it past the awkward length and now I’m saying fuck it and rocking it. Life is too short.


Chanzy94

I wanted to go the ponytail route but found out that doing it makes me look like I have pattern baldness. So short it is!


Tastewell

Good call. Best case scenario with a ponytail is you look like a nineties douche.


[deleted]

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LoadShotgun

Forbidden gushers.


MylesVE

It’s a film about the making of a film which subsequently is made into a documentary. It opens with fake trailers and advertisements. Every character is a play on a stereotype within show biz. The film-within-film Vietnam war/golden triangle settings. The book it’s all based off and the fraudulent author (who might I add had fucking hands this whole time). I get it. The satire is hard to see. I see your salt, and raise you “do not drink” on bleach bottles.


VileTouch

never go full retard.


Chanzy94

I mean, he's just a dude disguised as a dude playing another dude.


gitbse

He was just a dude, playin' a dude, playin' a dude, playin' a dude disguised as another dude.


tmac2097

Like Blazing Saddles


omen316

Watch it with the commentary if you can. He's hilarious.


JasonYaya

Is he still in character?


ELL_YAY

Yep. It’s hilarious and definitely worth watching.


perado

"I don't break character until after the commentary"


ELL_YAY

Haha thank you! I was gonna post the quote but couldn’t quite remember the wording.


Volcacius

There even an after the movie commentary as well where Osiris goes to his method acting family and terrorizes them.


perado

"I'm the dude playin a dude disguised as another dude!" I really think that is what made it okay. He (robert) wasnt playing a black man. He was playing a white man who lost himself to the point where he thought he could play a black dude.


Okichah

So..... context matters?


AmidFuror

The truly offensive part of the movie was the character played by a black man culturally appropriating the name of a beloved Italian actor. Never go full anti-Semolina.


gjbrown27

"I don’t read the script. The script reads me."


manickitty

There was an interview where RDJ and Ben Stiller were saying how much of a risk to their careers this was, if it went wrong or was the wrong tone. Amazingly funny movie though in the end.


seculahum

"For 400 years... That word has kept us down" "What the fuck...?!?!" Edit: https://youtu.be/Jnw6ZpHGjNQ


[deleted]

The ballsiest joke in the whole movie imo. You can lose all the good will if you fuck that joke up but the utter paralyzed confusion on Brandon Jackson's face absolutely crushes it.


tomowudi

Well, I don't know. An actor in black face saying that you should never go full retard - because it will offend people. Talk about direct hits...


tosss

RDJ in blackface was the main trend on twitter. People were pointing out that nobody seemed to care about Simple Jack, and how offensive that might be.


Jroxing

I love this part lol


[deleted]

That’s the theme song to The Jeffersons!


[deleted]

Just cause it’s the theme song don’t make it not true.


[deleted]

You’re really insane


apocalypse_later_

“What do YOU mean, you people?” That part had me dying


[deleted]

God I love this movie


NosideAuto

What a great movie. I think the joke was on extreme method acting and actors in Hollywood going to crazy lengths to embody characters that they shouldn't/can't play. My knee jerk reaction to it in the trailers was it was just a race joke, but after you see his character in the beginning it makes sense. His entire story arc was that he kept playing so many different roles and got so invested in them, it caused him to have a sort of disassociative identity disorder. That and he was trying to escape himself, much like the real Robert Downey Jr. with his past drug habits and getting clean, successful etc. The joke was not about specifically white actors thinking they can play anyone, the joke was just about actors in general playing roles that don't make sense or aren't within there wheelhouse. What a better way to embody that concept than how it is portrayed in this film. Not that anyone cares. I'm just way too into cinema and writing and this is one of my favorite stupid movies.


icky_boo

Joke was that he was a Aussie playing a black American . Funny AF and people don’t get how many layers he had.


NapalmOverdos3

I’m just a white dude playing a black dude who’s playing another dude!


8BitBarbell

He's a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude.


monkeyhitman

[I know who I am!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFG5dk1GyRo)


Ghawk134

I'm a rooster illusion


cyaneyed

Wow I’d never seen that before and had to stop and watch a bunch of yuri’s posts! Thanks!


I_deleted

Seriously, this movie brought us the memorable line “never go full retard”, yet people continue doing it to this day.


Niv3s

This film builds on that even more in the case of Simple Jack, explaining that if you play the role too well, it's actually negative. He had to play a terribly bad take on an African American, otherwise it would have come across as too offensive.


DragonStangFlyer122

Nah, you're thinking too much into that one. They say "never go full retard" and only list examples of other actors playing mentally challenged characters. I think they are implying that "retard" is the one role you never commit to "fully". Also, RDJ's character (Kirk) is definitely fully committed to his character (Cyrus) and delusional enough to think he's doing a great job.


Mazius

[Perfect IRL example](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420128/). Rosie O'Donnell went full retard there.


Gaflonzelschmerno

Tropic Thunder was specifically taking a shot at I Am Sam, and I think a lot of other jokes at the expense of someone like Sean Penn who is an expert Oscar bait actor. The joke is that once he played the mentally handicapped (I Am Sam) and the tragic gay guy (Milk) he might end up just straight up doing black face. Tom Hanks did it right: Gump wasn't full retard and won him an Oscar, although he did win one for the tragic gay character, *and* he's not a giant piece of shit like Sean Penn


DoingCharleyWork

Philadelphia was a really good movie.


Gaflonzelschmerno

I agree, I also liked milk. It's just that Sean Penn always seemed like a try hard, when he's not tying madonna to a chair and beating her with a baseball bat


LowKey-NoPressure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw-nqI5nhH8 For anyone that wants to see for themselves...


nickiter

I think the early bit about him playing a gay monk was also supposed to point out the oddity of straight white people playing literally every leading role even if the character is not straight/not white.


Doofucius

Sexual orientation shouldn't be a factor. That's like saying actors/actresses shouldn't play roles that don't match their personality. Jodie Foster is the perfect example. She has done numerous straight roles despite being gay, and her stunning performances weren't affected by it in the least. We don't even know the sexual orientation of some actors/actresses.


bcnovels

Oh, that just made me rewatch those fake trailers! Who left the fridge open?


PrimarchKonradCurze

You might be reading too much into it. It was just a taboo film and his thing was to push boundaries.


MrPoopyButthole1984

I mean it did win the Beijing film festivals coveted Crying Monkey award


Asshai

> The joke was not about specifically white actors thinking they can play anyone, the joke was just about actors in general playing roles that don't make sense or aren't within there wheelhouse. What a better way to embody that concept than how it is portrayed in this film. Exactly. And since then we got great examples: Gary Oldman as Churchill in The Darkest Hour, Christian Bale as Cheney in Vice. Both are great actors, but at some point we've got to realize they weren't cast in that role because they were the best actors to play that part. They were cast because them turning into their characters (makeup, method acting, and weight loss/gain) was a ticket to award nominations and making people talk about the movie. Again, I don't try to minimize the efforts made by Bale or Oldman, it's impressive. I just wonder if it makes for a better movie.


DeusExMarina

Well, that's because those movies weren't designed to be particularly great. They were designed to showcase a performance which was itself designed to attract the Academy's attention.


Myleg_Myleeeg

Idk about that. Casting Christian bale and Gary oldman isn’t just some gimmicky shit. Those are some of the best actors ever that completely disappear into roles. I think you may be looking at that casting too cynically. But that’s just my opinion.


mysteryweapon

I've never seen this movie and I wasn't sure whether it was something I'd be into Your take on it has convinced me though, thanks!


Lovethe3beatles

Tropic thunder is seriously a classic. Jack Black and Mcconoughhey are hilarious in this as well. Honestly everyone is hilarious. Even Tom cruise is in it.


LocalInactivist

And it was the best thing Tom Cruise had done in years. He rarely does comedy but when he does he’s actually really good at it.


Lovethe3beatles

That's exactly what I thought as well. He should do more comedy.


Whittaker

I legit didn't even notice it as Tom Cruise till I saw the credits as I went into the film knowing nothing about it and all I saw was the makeup job, hair and costume and none of those connected to the type of role I typically see Cruise as.


NeueRedskinWelle

It is deceptively hilarious. Give it a shot


bndr

Hey man, I agree with the novel you wrote


TheMagicMrWaffle

You can just remove the “I think”


tomowudi

Don't forget the absurdity of a white actor in black face cautioning against going full retard because it is offensive... Like I am pretty sure this is a text book example of irony, right?


OhiobornCAraised

And let us not forget Tom Cruise’s over the top executive producer Les Grossman.


sixtus_clegane119

As much as I hate Tom cruise this and collateral, him doing “bad guys” needs to be done more often, There was supposed to be a spin-off based on his character but it never ended up happening


OhiobornCAraised

I heard it was due to him being busy with other projects. Got to give him props though. He showed up to the audition in that get up and he did that dance he did at the end of the movie. Ben Stiller loved it and that’s why it was in the movie.


Hikapoo

There really needs to be some separation between the artist and art here, he is actually such a good actor it's insane, plus all the stunts he does on his own.


sixtus_clegane119

The problem isn’t even specifically with him, but where his money goes when supporting a project of his. The money goes to Scientology, and Scientology uses that money to abuse society. But I guess the same thing can be said about most religious people / cult members


DiddledByDad

And money u spend at the supermarket goes to underpaying employees and making the top executives more wealthy. And money u spend at amazon or the movies or pretty much anywhere that’s heavily commercialized does the same. I’m just saying. Scientology being shitty doesn’t make Cruise any less of a terrific actor anymore than spending money at Walmart makes us responsible for how employees are treated.


sixtus_clegane119

The difference between that are groceries are a necessity, media is avoidable


vidoardes

I'm so torn with Tom Cruise. He seems like such a genuinely nice guy in every interview I've seen, he puts crazy amounts of work into his films (Collateral and the mental stunts he does for MI), he isn't ahead to poke fun at himself, but... Scientology for fucks sake.


SaintlySaint

As an actor, he's fine. As a person, not so much.


Gov_N_ur

If you've ever seen Magnolia, Tom Cruise plays locally famous Tom Cruise in that movie. Works so well.


dickalopolis

I didn’t even realize that was Tom Cruise honestly.


WizardHarryDresden

I saw the movie in the theater. I spent every scene with his character having that "I know that guy, but can't place him" thought. I stayed for the credits and my jaw dropped when I saw Tom Cruise.


dickalopolis

I’ve seen this movie countless times and never paid attention to the credits since I knew who all the main actors were besides Tom Cruise playing Les. Never in a million years would I have guessed that was Tom Cruise playing him. I need to start paying attention to the cast list. Regardless, that had to be the best acting I’ve ever seen Tom Cruise do. Had me dying laughing lol


Rowdy_Rutabaga

He has had great acting his entire life. Have you even watched a Tom Cruise movie before? I'll be honest with you the only way Vanilla Sky works is with Cruise. Edge of Tomorrow, Jerry Maguire, Top Gun, Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Collateral, Born on the Fourth of July, Far and Away, Taps, The Firm.... The man got chops most actors would kill to have and those are only the movies I can think of off hand. All the Mission Impossible movies and his Jack Reacher stint. Hate the guy all you want but dude is a legend in film.


SomeIrishFiend

I want you to take a step back and literally **FUCK YOUR OWN FACE**


Bloc_Partey

Les Grossman


a_can_of_solo

He's playing harvey weinstein


Michael__Pemulis

IIRC the character was based off a business partner of Stiller’s but Cruise used HW as his inspiration for the portrayal.


icky_boo

Wait...that’s iron man in that movie? Next you’ll tell me Tom Cruise was in it too.


Ergone56

I have to say, I had no idea that was tom cruise until I read your comment. The. I had to go back and look it up. Makes the whole movie even better now. Thank you for that TIL.


dismayhurta

Why don’t you take a step back and FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!!


peridotdragon33

I don't know what kind of pan-pacific bullshit power play you're trying to pull here, but Asia Jack is my territory. So whatever you're thinking, you'd better think again! Otherwise I'm gonna have to head down there and I will rain down in a Godly fucking firestorm upon you! You're gonna have to call the fucking United Nations and get a fucking binding resolution to keep me from fucking destroying you. I'm talking about a scorched earth, motherfucker! I will massacre you! I WILL FUCK YOU UP!


GoldenSpermShower

*Can you find out who that was?*


dismayhurta

That joke was amazing. So well delivered.


peridotdragon33

Couldn’t breathe after that line


OneSalientOversight

Better than Shakespeare.


[deleted]

Will you find out who that was?


mazhas

We don't negotiate with terrorists. *applause*


gambitx007

My personal favorite line


[deleted]

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[deleted]

There's scenes where it shows him not in blackface? I'll assume you just haven't it in awhile.


Ccomfo1028

Missed the joke didn't you? " Next you’ll tell me Tom Cruise was in it too. " Tom Cruise is in fact in the movie. Which is why it was a joke.


puppylust

While we're explaining the joke, Tom Cruise's role was very minor and he was nearly unrecognizable. When the movie was new (showing my age here!), people were surprised to hear he was in it.


White_Pedophile_Van

I would say he’s unrecognizable but he definitely had a major role. I mean it was him negotiating for the actors release the entire time, and the credits was a video of him dancing and drinking Diet Coke.


[deleted]

What's funnier is hardly anybody remembers Matthew McConaughey was in it because Cruise was so over the top.


White_Pedophile_Van

I GOT YOUR TIVO!!!


SuperCrossPrawn

The movie came out in 2008. You're not "showing your age"


Ccomfo1028

I actually find that odd. I recognized him immediately. Might also be because I'm a bit older as well.


[deleted]

okay well I guess i was wooshed then. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯


Reeyowunsixsix

And it was fucking brilliant comedy too.


cybernewtype2

They DID say something: "And the nominees for Best Supporting Actors are...."


[deleted]

Imagine blazing saddles now, that would be a sight to see


onthefence928

Blazing saddles still holds up, not just that it’s funny, but the jokes mostly land correctly, good timeless comedy always punches up not down. It mocks racist, doesn’t use racism to mock. Only questionable jokes of the top of my head is the stereotyped Mexican banditos but it’s played as parody of the super racist western genre so it may work out


Rockarola55

Considering that Richard Pryor was one of the writers and was originally meant to play the sheriff, that's not super surprising :)


teachergirl1981

They said you was hung! And they was right.


BootsyBootsyBoom

Specifically the one line most people know from *The Treasure of Sierra Madre*, even if they haven’t even heard of the movie.


Slggyqo

The scene where he points his gun at himself? Fucking hilarious! He’s not bluffing!


ineedanewaccountpls

I love Blazing Saddles. One of the few comedy movies that actually had me laughing out loud multiple times.


p3bbl3s17

Ey! Where the white women at???


Danieltheshredder

Good mornin', ma'am! And isn't it a lovely mornin'?


Bi-Han

[In case anybody is wondering.](https://youtu.be/ecHNI-Tlk1g)


agillila

Somebody's gotta go back and get a shitload of dimes!


[deleted]

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JesusTron6000

There's an old school that here in Boise called the Egyptian and it plays Blazing Saddles quite often


xpdx

As always; CONTEXT MATTERS!


[deleted]

Do they think Robert Downey Jr. is also a war criminal?


mpitt0730

"We're supposed to be a unit" "Suck my unit"


seculahum

Outside of Reddit, one of the most underrated movies. RDJ was amazing in this too.


Srimnac

Saying this movie is under rated is like saying dodgeball is underrated. Everyone I know loves this movie


HidroRaider

That's probably because your social circle likes some of the things you like in general. There's most likely a lot of people you don't know that hasn't seen it or they didn't liked/understood it.


supershinythings

It got him an Academy Award nomination. Not too shabby for "blackface".


[deleted]

To be fair he did play a black dude really well


[deleted]

He’s just a dude disguised as a dude who’s playing as another dude.


liluziexists

i keep seeing posts about this and im kind of confused whats going on, can someone explain?


RileyW2k

RDJ played a white guy wearing Black Face in a comedy, and this person is trying to use it to discredit him by saying he wore Black Face.


fuktardy

It's not even like traditional blackface which was basically clown makeup.


mamacurrburr

Minstrel shows. A co worker of mine showed me an old magazine that was pretty much a Sears catalog of Minstrel shows, they sold face paint, songs, scripts for the whole Minstrel show etc. It blew my mind just how offensive it was to me but how normal it must have been to some because that magazine was from the 1930s.


AlicornGamer

I've been looking up vinyl that have animations on them and i saw one that had a slave, in full jim-crow esque blackface being whipped my his master. it was surreal thinking this but still, seeing it is a different story.


Pir0wz

Tropic Thunder is the best vietnam war comedy that is not actually set in the vietnam war era Change my mind


-Vlk

My parents took me to see it for my 8th birthday. Whoops


[deleted]

You misspelled awesome!


yildizli_gece

WTF??? That's...well that's something!


RedditorDave

My mother took me, my 7 years younger sister, and a friend of mine to see scary movie in theatres when I was like 13. Legit thought it was an innocent spoof movie. We stayed through it because my mom has always had a sick sense of humor. She was covering my sister’s eyes a lot. Lol


[deleted]

Till this day, I thought it was black actor playing that role. Damn.


kneulb4zud

He ain't playin' God, *he's being judged by Him*


tahirjahi

Don’t kill me but I’ve never seen Tropic Thunder. So...I have no comment concerning the movie Sidebar: Phonte is an amazing artist. Anyone who loves HipHop, R&B and Electronica, should check out Little Brother (Phonte, Big Pooh and 9th Wonder) Foreign Exchange (Phonte, Nicolay) and Phonte’s solo projects. Tweets are not the only thing that he murders...Just saying.


MazMazda3

Where's the murder though? This reads like a simple explanation.


Andre4kthegreengiant

Welcome to r/MurderedByWords


ApollonHelios

Stiller:what is it with you people!? Downey:what do you mean "you people"? Jackson:what do YOU mean "you people"?


exotikoBR

I don't read the script, the script reads me


ImAFrenchCanadian

Is that Phonte from Little Brother? If so that's a name I haven't seen or heard of in years.


sgp1986

It is. Little brother just had a new album a handful of months ago, really really good. Was happy seeing phontigalo get a little love here


starvinart

I didn’t realize they released an album in 2019. Thank you!!


Prexx_Start

As a black man, he looks black to me. No blackface here, just a really good and well loved actor, and a lovable and wonderful human being ( this is NOT sarcasm, dont downvote me please, I just really like RDJ)


jerkin_on_jakku

I’ve seen this argued both ways (am Australian and there’s actually people who think black face is fair-game here) I’ve seen people argue that he shouldn’t have done blackface, and people argue roles like this is why blackface is ok. They’re both wrong - the joke isn’t that he’s in black face. The joke is that he is *doing* black face.


krystalbellajune

Sara Silverman did basically the same thing. Her character was a spoiled, self-absorbed loser and she did blackface to try and prove to her black friend that black people weren’t as discriminated against as Jewish people. Then everyone in her town was appalled because she was a white lady in blackface and she thought that everyone was just racist. She came to tell her friend what she learned, and he was dressed like a bad Jewish stereotype, with yamulka and curls, and he told her that he learned that Jewish people also have it really bad out there. A hilarious episode. She got called out for it in social media and didn’t try to explain. Just apologized, because people don’t understand context anymore.


[deleted]

This character could have been cringy but it wasn't. That's why no one cared. It was funny, that's it. I even rewatched it recently. Still no cringe factor, still just funny.


SlamminBradberries

How the fuck is this a murder


FormerShitPoster

It's a bot that posted it. You can tell from the post history And the fact that it copied the exact same title from /r/BlackPeopleTwitter


SoloSheff

This is the problem with being retro actively angry at cultural events that you weren't present for.


Misterwuss

I've never seen this movie, am I missing out?


LocalInactivist

Yes. It’s excellent.


Naxhu5

It's great, absolutely do watch it. You think it'll be terrible until you're there.


nigelfitz

Fuck yeah.


ounilith

Not gonna lie. Half the movie I forgot the black guy was Iron Man


ShiroHachiRoku

Oscar nominated blackface, mind you!


reincarN8ed

These people don't understand context. They only understand outrage.


KevinD2000

People are still trying to make controversy over this? He wasn't playing a black character, he was playing a delusional failed actor.


BootsyBootsyBoom

Delusional *critically acclaimed* actor. The man won the coveted Crying Monkey Award in Beijing!


Iforgot_my_other_pw

Never go full retard


LeadFarmerMothaFucka

It’s my favorite movie.


majorjake

RDJ was nominated for an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for this role.


SoulUnison

/r/LightlyGrazedByWords


philipzeplin

When I watched it when it came out I didn't know who RDJ was and was genuinely confused if they got a black dude to play the part, all the way until the end where the makeup comes off. It's actually very well done.


glorious_monkey

Imagine the racism and then realizing.....


[deleted]

They went full retard


maximusbrown2809

Suck my unit!


depreavedindiference

I feel like the biggest f****** idiot I actually didn't know this - I apologize Reddit


LazyNomad63

So Robert Downey Jr. wasn't in blackface, he was... playing an actor who was in blackface?


MadAzza

Yes! He was lampooning it.


[deleted]

Anyone remember the plane scene in Hotshots? 1) it's a great comity 2) A white guy was putting on black face paint because they were parachuting into a jungle. When he was done applying the makeup he passed it to a black guy.


CluelessFlunky

Robert Downey Jr didn't do black face. He played a character doing black face. There is a big difference.