‘Tropic Thunder’: A ‘¡Three Amigos!’ for Our Time

Columbia Pictures
![]() Tropic Thunder |
![]() ¡Three Amigos! |
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| Plot | Three prissy actors find themselves in the jungles of 'Nam, and must become the soldiers they portray in the movie. | Three prissy actors find themselves in the constantly pillaged Mexican village of Santo Poco, and must become the heroes they portray in their movies. |
| Catchphrase | "I'm a lead farmer, motherfucker!" | "We will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions!" |
| Obstacles overcome | Land mines, drug lords, water torture. | The Invisible Swordsman, a singing bush, Mexican townspeople whose only skill is being able to sew. |
| Cameos | Tom Cruise plays Jewish film producer Les Grossman. | Joe Mantegna plays Jewish film producer Harry Flugelman. |
| Hit single | "I Love Tha' Pussy." | "My Little Buttercup." |
| Bat-eating scene | Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) gnaws on a bat that ate his heroin stash in a desperate attempt for a fix. | Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase), Lucky Day (Steve Martin), and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short) sit around a campfire munching on bats for sustenance. |
| Withered creepy old-guy character | Nick Nolte. | El Guapo. |


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