Normally, Empire would say that the prospect of a new Ben Stiller comedy is news to be greeted with a loud ‘huzzah!’ and a street party involving inordinate amounts of party poppers, M&S Yum Yums and Russ Abbot’s seminal classic, Atmosphere on a loop – but then we saw Night At The Museum (seriously, how much money has that film made? How undemanding are the kids of America?).
Nevertheless, from the sound of it, Stiller’s new project, Tropic Thunder, should see a return to Zoolander/Dodgeball form for the Zoolander/Dodgeball star.
If you hear that title and you think it’s an action comedy, a la Hot Fuzz, then you’re on the right lines. A project so long in development that Stiller first thought of it when he was working on Empire Of The Sun, Tropic Thunder will see Stiller star as an action movie star who, along with four other macho co-stars, is forced to rely on his boot camp skills to stay alive when things go horribly awry on their new movie. Needless to say, hilarity ensues. Probably.
Stiller co-wrote the screenplay with David Lynch staple, Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen (who, like Toy Story’s Joel Cohen, is destined to forever be confused with one half of the Coen Brothers), and he will call the shots on a movie for the first time since Derek Zoolander debuted Magnum back in 2001.
It all sounds good so far – high-concept with a lot of room for laughs, but now much depends on Stiller’s approach, and the casting. Night At The Museum showed that the comedian is now ready to hit the family film market, and that movie’s inexplicable success may tempt him to water down Tropic Thunder. Let’s hope now, for really we all know that it’s crying out to be a balls-to-the-wall spoof of all things Arnie etc.
Meanwhile, with at least four other key roles besides Stiller’s waiting to be filled, we don’t mind saying that we think this may be a great opportunity for some other Frat Packers to saddle up and ride alongside their fellow founding member and, lest we forget, club treasurer.
Can you imagine a poster for a comedy called Tropic Thunder, with the names ‘Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Steve Carell and Vince Vaughn’ above the title? We can. And frankly, we’re already laughing.
Tropic Thunder will start filming in July, and will be out in 2008.