Ground Report

First of all – seeing Tom Cruise having fun and turning off the intense-o-meter is a welcoming, funny change. Whether or not the role itself would be half as funny without Cruise, I leave for you to decide. One thing that was decidedly unfunny, though, was the "wild and carazy" love of hip-hop and dancing. Less offensive than just plain lazy, it showed a real weakness in the film’s writing, where it was otherwise strong. * With that said, of course I found Matthew McConnaghey’s role to be much more of a career booster and more interesting than Cruise’s. It wasn’t zany and didn’t require that he wear a fat suit, but for a guy that has (despite being talented) become more or less a joke in recent years, it showed that he too could make fun of himself. Though I was shocked at the size of his role; what I thought was a cameo was more of a supporting role. * It’s too easy to congratulate Robert Downey, Jr. on his tour-de-force performance and to deride Jack Black (and the writers) for his one-note tune as a heroin-addicted funny man, but what I was wondering was whether or not Black’s character hit a little too close to home for Downey. I imagine it didn’t too much, as Downey has been supposedly clean for a few years now, but certainly if had to cross someone’s mind at some point. * That said, one of the best things about the film is Jackson’s character, Alpa Chino, if for no other reason than the existence of such a fictional character may spare us from a real-life rapper with that (inspired but) obnoxious name. I’m beyond appreciative. (If you’re somehow unaware of the connection between Alpa Chino and real-life rappers, go here.) * Regarding the lack of females and the relatively small usage of Brandon Jackson (the lone true black character), I’ve seen some discussion that excuses Stiller and gang. Some have even gone so far as to say that, in the spirit of this Hollywood send-up, Stiller was cognizant of this fact and purposefully underused Jackson and didn’t feature women as a way of spotlighting the problem of a lack of female and minority characters in Hollywood. What an absolutely brilliant piece of bullsh*t. I think Stiller’s a bright guy and all, but he’s not that many steps ahead of the curve. A joke of a theory, but I love the way that it both excuses and congratulates the filmmakers for doing the same old thing. Genius.