HSX : Movies Prediction Market : News : Punt or Pass?

Courting controversy and all manners of media attention, the Ben Stiller (BSTIL) directed Tropic Thunder (TROPC) finally comes to theaters. Starring Stiller, Jack Black (JBLAC) and Robert Downey Jr. (RDOWN), Thunder is looking to oust The Dark Knight from the number one spot.

In the vein of Three Amigos!, Stiller, Black and Downey Jr. play three pampered actors who travel to Southeast Asia to make a war movie. With their shenanigans and demands getting out of control, the studio abandons the film without informing the trio. The actors still think they're shooting a movie and have no idea that they are in the midst of a real-life drug war.

The film pokes fun at war films like Platoon, Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket while the characters spoof Hollywood actors who take themselves too seriously. Downey Jr.'s character is an Australian guy who undergoes a surgical procedure to play an African-American character. Jack Black makes fun of Eddie Murphy like performers who play several roles in one film.

Thunder sparked protests when groups found issues with the use of the word "retard." What's true is that with all this buzz both negative and positive, Thunder has a good chance of making a real mark on the box office this weekend.

To help you decide if Tropic Thunder is a Punt of Pass? we examine two films from Stiller, two films that use the mentally challenged as an emotional hook and two films that feature actors as characters who end up taking on real life within the plot.

researched and written by Afshan Farooqui

STILLER'S BEST

MENTALLY CHALLENGED FOR OSCARS

FIGHTING ACTORS

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Budget: $20M
Opening: $30M
Gross: $114M
Vince Vaughn owned a gym which was a second home for its members. But across the street, cheeseball Ben Stiller ran the mega-gym that would put Vaughn's out of business. In order to save his little haven, Vaughn and his gymmates enter a Dodgeball competition to win $50,000. But wait, Stiller also formed a team and is out to get them.

Zoolander (2005)
Budget: $28M
Opening: $15M
Gross: $45M
Ben Stiller, aka Derek Zoolander was always beautiful. So beautiful, that he is now the world's best known male supermodel. It's not easy being beautiful and when his high profile life becomes stressful, Derek starts falling apart. But, he must pull himself together as he is being used as a pawn in an assassination plot and must use his miniscule brain and considerable good looks to save the day.

Radio (2003)
Budget: $35M
Opening: $13M
Gross: $52M
Cuba Gooding Jr. makes a shameless attempt at another Oscar with the role as the mentally challenged title character. Radio hangs out in a small Southern town riding his grocery cart. When he gets harassed by some football players, their coach takes him under his wing. Radio starts hanging out with the team and becomes friends with everyone. However, some townfolk object to his presence saying he's a distraction. Love, friendship and Radio's winning personality win out in the end.

I Am Sam (2001)
Budget: N/A
Opening: $8M
Gross: $40M
Sean Penn plays a mentally challenged man who loves his 7-year-old daughter played by Dakota Fanning. But his condition makes it hard for him to give her everything she needs. He guilts a lawyer, played by Michelle Pfeiffer into taking his case when the state takes his daughter away. Through the ordeal, everyone learns that love is all it takes to make the world go round.

Team America: World Police (2004)
Budget: $32M
Opening: $12M
Gross: $32M
Trey Parker and Matt Stone outdid themselves with this feature film centering on an elite group of counter-terrorists. In order to win the war on terror, the leader of the group enlists an actor named Gary Johnston to work as an undercover terrorist. Meanwhile, Kim Jong II uses a group of pacifist Hollywood actors in his plot to destroy America. The actor and the elite squad must make it all stop.

Three Amigos! (1986)
Budget: N/A
Opening: $8M
Gross: $39M
Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short play out of work silent film actors. They get hired by Mexican villagers who want to defeat the local thugs. The actors take offer thinking its an acting job when really they'll be battling violent banditos.

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