as much as this classic comedy cracks us
up
getting it made now might be an uphill
battle for ben stiller
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
tropic thunder jokes that wouldn't work
today
for this list we're looking at concepts
and lines from this 2008 film
that might not go over well with some
current audiences wow
let's go and make the greatest war movie
ever
since we're talking about the whole
movie a spoiler alert
is in effect number 10.
lazarus goes undercover when actor tug
speedman is captured by members of a
drug cartel gang
his co-stars go to rescue him part of
their plan involves kirk lazarus acting
as a distraction
which he does by pretending to be a
chinese farmer how the hell do you know
chinese
land soaking money with gongley second
globe third oscar
prep for that one by working in beijing
textile factory for eight months
he dons a conical hat and discusses his
rice paddy and poppy fields in broken
mandarin there we go
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today people of chinese descent might
find his appropriation of cultural
clothing and misuse of language
insulting
electrolytes
and seeing as china is extremely
important to the modern box office
it's unlikely hollywood would risk
alienating the country besides
we're sure a brilliant actor like kirk
lazarus could come up with some other
creative distraction
number nine demanding people speak
american
after an action sequence is delayed
explosives expert cody takes his
frustration out on his assistants
who happen to be asian since they're
filming in vietnam i need some dudes up
here who speak american god damn it
he complains that they don't quote speak
american and
implies that one of them has worked in a
sweatshop
while cody obviously isn't meant to be a
role model his ignorance and prejudice
isn't addressed head-on
everyone please shut up the jets are
coming in we only have one chance at
this
these are such big topics of
conversation today it's doubtful that
these kinds of remarks would fly without
the character being called out
or facing consequences in some way
mother nature just pissed their pants
suit
number eight the young gang leader
shortly after the cartel gang kidnapped
speedman
they take him to their leader it's then
revealed that they're led by a cigar
smoking boy named tran
i'm trapped you are just passing my
puppy fields
you are d-e-a scum in recent years
documentaries like kony 2012 have
depicted the horrific reality that child
soldiers face yeah they don't want to do
what he says but
he forces them to do bad things
what do you think about that sad the
viral documentary garnered over 100
million views online
and managed to get president obama to
take action the widespread knowledge of
stories like kony 2012 today
would make tropic thunder's tran less of
a joke and more of a tragic figure
you performed you perform or die i ain't
oh
but even if the movie somehow dodged
that real-life association
the filmmakers may still face heat from
the fcc for the child's smoking habit
number 7. jeff portnoy's faux trailer
traffic thunder begins with a series of
fake movie trailers
who left the fridge open in one of the
previews
jack black plays multiple members of an
obese farting family known as the
fatties
this summer america's favorite obese
family
is
while the trailer excellently parodies
films like the nutty professor
it does so at the expense of people
living with obesity
modern society has made huge strides
forward in the last decade to promote
body positivity for people of all shapes
and sizes
this shifting perspective towards body
image would cause many to see this
trailer as fat shaming
in some countries it's considered a
compliment
number six al pacino al pacino is
initially
introduced as a heterosexual musician
who writes songs expressing his love for
female anatomy so
his cast mates are caught off guard when
he accidentally admits he's attracted to
a man
after an angry alpha tries to end the
conversation his co-stars continue to
ask questions about his sexuality
no that sounded like lance no i said
nance that's what i said nancy it
sounded like lance
jack black's character goes so far as to
offer the rapper sexual favors
to make matters worse his attraction to
men is later treated as a punchline
no hell no what come on look man
everyone's gay once in a while
i'm not gay over the last decade
hollywood has notably increased lgbtq
plus representation
although they've still got a ways to go
in today's reality
albus sexuality would not be treated as
just another joke
number five inappropriate jokes during a
stormy night
speedman kills a panda in self-defense
when he confesses to murdering the thing
he loves most
his agent rick assumes the actor killed
a prostitute a hooker alright you killed
a hooker
calm down rick immediately responds by
giving speedmen instructions on how to
cover up such a murder
we can safely assume peta wasn't too
happy with this scene but
the way they talk about the fictional
sex worker is just as troubling
noah panda
amanda come on dude i mean that's
probably not even a real name
instead of encouraging speedman to face
justice rick immediately tells him how
to get away with it
the idea that the life of a sex worker
or any human being for that matter
is less valuable than a hollywood career
is messed up
this line is too dark for modern
audiences it doesn't matter anymore
i've moved on number four the flaming
dragon cartel
the drug cartel that antagonizes the
actors is called flaming dragon this
group is solely composed of asian men
who apparently have one vhs tape to go
around and
are extremely quick to resort to
violence you've watched it many many
times
you should have got ossica although it's
never explicitly stated where they're
from
this gang could still be offensive to
those of asian descent who is this
and how'd you get this phone we are
flaming dragon simple jack belonged to
us
their name is rooted in a cheap cultural
stereotype and they're all treated as
crude terrorists
you don't negotiate with terrorists
[Applause]
hey are you insane i think i could have
done it
they're going to kill him making
foreigners into scapegoats for your
villain is a tired cliche
and as we stated before hollywood is
more dependent on the international box
office than ever
flaming dragon would need fleshed out
members and more importantly
a name change to appeal to wider
audiences
number three simple jack
speedman once starred in an oscar bait
movie called simple jack
in the film he played a mentally
challenged character who had bad teeth
a low iq and an exaggerated stutter the
depiction of a person with learning
difficulties as physically and mentally
inferior
outraged disability groups and was
called out as hate speech
even in 2008 while the character was
meant to be a parody of films like i
am sam and forrest gump certain
audiences couldn't see the satire
underneath speedman's hammy performance
and outlandish makeup
the character is still so controversial
that snowboarder sean white drew
criticism for wearing a simple jack
costume as recently as 2018.
the character is another example of how
badly received a parody can be these
days
when the joke comes at the expense of a
minority group i'll see you tonight
when i go to bed in my hand movies
but this head movie makes my eyes
rain number two an infamous conversation
it wasn't just the real life audience
that criticized simple jack
during the movie kirk lazarus ridiculed
speedman for getting way too into his
role
jack yeah you went all out on that one
huh you did
really swung for the fences their
conversation is a sharply satirical
commentary about
actual actors who portrayed people with
mental disabilities for clout
however their exchange features the
extremely liberal use of a certain r
word
over the last decade society's increased
awareness of people with developmental
disabilities has made that word
increasingly taboo
the frequent use of the word in the
scene would likely distract audiences
from the sharp commentary underneath
overall the conversation would need some
serious rewrites to make its point today
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number one kirk lazarus's method acting
australian actor kirk lazarus had quote
pigmentation alteration surgery and
changed his voice to play
african-american soldier lincoln osiris
man i don't drive character till i've
done the dvd commentary while his choice
is thoroughly criticized and
deconstructed throughout the film
robert downey jr's performance as
lazarus earned him an oscar nomination
despite the accolades and smart
commentary we just can't imagine there's
any way he could wear blackface today
under any circumstances
and why am i in this movie maybe i just
knew i had to represent
because they had one good partner for a
black man they gave it to crocodile
dundee
puppy breaks kid that man's national
treasure since the movie debuted
general audiences have become more aware
of the historical and racist
significance of blackface
and celebrities who have failed to
oppose the practice have even lost their
jobs
for 400 years that work
has kept us down since robert downey
jr's role brought attention to the issue
it's unlikely he'll face consequences in
the future but
given the hugely negative reaction to
blackface in any form
kirk lazarus would likely approach his
method acting in a different way today
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