Ben Stiller came right out and admitted that he probably wouldn’t be able to make Tropic Thunder today, which opened the doors yet again on the discussion of whether or not the smash hit comedy really is offensive.
Obviously, you’ve got Robert Downey Jr. in blackface as a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude, but nobody really seemed too bothered at the time when he landed nominations from both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor, never mind the fact the riotous comedy won stellar reviews from critics and crowds on its way to almost $200 million at the box office.
And yet, every now and again it appears as though the younger generations stumble upon Tropic Thunder for the first time and demand to know why RDJ wasn’t canceled and hasn’t offered an apology for playing the part, even if the entire message behind it was the oblivious sanctimony and arrogance of white actors feeling like they can play anyone they want regardless of race, creed, or gender.
If you can believe it, it’s been 15 years since Tropic Thunder first hit theaters, and streaming subscribers have decided to celebrate in their numbers by revisiting it in their droves. Per FlixPatrol, the star-studded assault on both the senses and common decency has reappeared as one of the top-viewed titles on iTunes, so there’s quite clearly a huge number of folks willing to dive headlong back into its unique brand of insanity regardless of its “offensive” nature, or lack thereof.