How far is too far?

 A few weeks ago I was went to see a movie.  Can’t think of which one as I see so many of them, but I remember slurping on my Mr. Pibb and watching the trailers.  I love trailers.  They reflect (most of the time) the better parts of the movie and definitely pass the time while you’re waiting for the movie to start.   So when I saw the trailer for the movie ‘Tropic  Thunder’ by Ben Stiller, a grin popped on my face.  Not because I think he’s a great writer /director or that all his movies are guaranteed ‘funny’ but he’s built a personna for himself as a ‘comedic’ filmmaker.  He also writes and directs the movies HE wants to see and he hires his friends and family.

I also like the fact that he’s trying to bring humor in the world we live in today. Make people laugh for a spell to take them out of the craziness of this world.  I like the fact that he can do crazy, sometimes senseless movies and actually get the greenlight and bring them to the big screen.  

But when are you being funny versus being inconsiderate or rude? When are you creating jokes and not embellishing stereotypes.  I haven’t seen the movie but I plan to, why?  Because of Robert Downey Jr’s character.  When I saw it I immediately thought ‘Oh no,’ not another black face’.  With all the recent, careless and public use of the ‘N’ word by prominent celebrities the past couple of years, I knew after seeing RD Jr’s character, that African American elements in the film would be ‘pulled’ back or reigned in ‘just RIGHT’ so that it wouldn’t come across offensive. 

I’m pretty openminded so I can find humor in alot of wierd stuff and even be objective.  And I admit, seeing RD jr’ in disguise as a black man and the way he did it, I laughed! HYSTERICALLY.  So I’m prepared for the ’stereotypes’, not just of African Americans but of other races and personality types.  That’s what Ben Stiller does, he pokes fun at stuff that people tend to take too seriously and he amplifies stuff that people may be too sensitive about.  

I will commend Ben for going to the NAACP to preview the movie before it was release to make sure the use of the white man in black face character didn’t borderline on the offensive and I’m sure that Ben checked with other leadership organizations before releasing the film.  BUT apparently he didn’t get the ‘okay’ from a certain group of people.  Hmmmm read about that here….   See article here

Will this be like Adam Sandlers movie, ‘Don’t Mess With the Zohan’?  Where Adam exxagerates the characteristics and tradition of Israli’s and Palenstinians?  I reviewed the Adam’s movie at Film Reviews 2 Go.  To find out what I thought about that one, check it out here

So I guess my question is, how far is too far, when you’re making fun of a race of people, a culture, a negative word like the ‘N’ word or ‘Retard’?  How far is too far, when you’re making fun of a person’s disabilities?  Comedians are here to make us laugh at ourselves but what if it really isn’t that funny?

I will admit I’m going to see Tropic Thunder, I’m curious to see how Ben is going to pull it off.  What are you concerns or thoughts about these types of productions?