Tropic Thunder is one of the funniest movies you’ll see all year… assuming the champions of political correctness don’t destroy it first. Disability advocates are marshaling their forces to save us all from the shocking use of the word “retard” in the film. Unfortunately for people with a sense of humor, it’s one of the funniest things in it. Apparently "retard" is now worse than the N word, which seems to show up in every other film without the slightest complaint. That's right, a word used to describe mentally handicapped people who for the most part don't know or care anyway, is now worse than a word which was for hundreds of years a symbol of slavery, oppression, and hatred.
It started with some rumbling in comments sections and on message boards around the internet, now disability organizations are apparently starting to demand changes to the movie in order to water it down, lest it hurt the feelings of retards (yep, I said it), and they’re starting to scare off DreamWorks pictures.
At issue is the movie’s funniest premise. Ben Stiller plays actor Tugg Speedman, an action hero type whose one attempt at serious acting had him baiting Oscar with his portrayal of a stereotypical retarded man, complete with bad haircut and buck teeth. The funniest line in the film relates to his character, as Robert Downey Jr. explains to him why the character didn’t work the way so many other mentally handicapped characters have. “You never go full retard,” he says after one of the most inspired, satirical conversations on the state of things in Hollywood that I’ve heard in anything all year. It’s the movie’s big laugh, it’s the thing you’re remember most, and now you may not even see it because DreamWorks has in fact, already started to cave.
According to the NY Times they’ve agreed to meet with the leaders of angry disability groups who will demand they make changes before the movie’s release a mere week away. They object to the use of the word retard, and will probably want it replaced with something more politically correct and completely unfunny, especially in an R-rated movie which gets most of its strength from being flat out, hilariously offensive. Simply put, these groups want to ruin the film, in the name of political correctness. There’s no other way to put it. That’s what’s going on. There’s no way to give them what they want without destroying one of the funniest movies of the year.
This is ridiculous isn’t it? With only a week to go and glowing reviews of the movie already piling up on the internet, there’s no way DreamWorks would cave in to their ridiculous, anti-free speech demands is there? Well not so fast there cowboy. They just may. In fact, they’ve already started to give in.
A viral website dedicated to Ben Stiller’s mentally challenged “Simple Jack” character has already been ripped off the internet. And if you click over to the viral site for his Tropic Thunder alter ego Tugg Speedman, you’ll see no mention of Simple Jack, a pivotal part of the film and Tugg Speedman’s career, listed anywhere in his fake filmography. DreamWorks is already giving in. What will happen when faced with even more pressure on Wednesday? Speaking as a fan of the movie, and retards everywhere, folks, I’m not digging these odds.
The galling thing here is that in context, the character of Simple Jack and in fact even the use of the word “retard” is used specifically to lampoon the callous way in which Hollywood sometimes uses the mentally challenged to score acting points. Tropic Thunder is actually on the side of the very people trying to ruin it. Unfortunately, many of these people seem to have absolutely no sense of humor.
DreamWorks needs to know that this is merely a very loud minority they’re dealing with. And the only way to do that is for you to tell them. Email, comments, whatever. DreamWorks is watching. Hit your keyboard and make yourself heard. Save Tropic Thunder. Save Simple Jack. Save free speech. Save adult conversation. Save the retards.
For a reference, here’s the clip in question… I’d recommend waiting until the movie to see it in context when it’ll be funnier, but who knows if it’ll even make the movie. Watch it while you can:
Read Katey's counter-rant - Tropic Thunder Deserves Controversy.
