The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Platoon parody effect; two qualified reactions to the portrayal; two proposed role swaps and Craig's response
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:49Read transcript
- Tropic Thunder is said to affect later viewing of Platoon in the way Walk Hard affects music biographies because many shots closely parody Platoon. — Chris Ryan
- One answer says the blackface performance has never personally offended him, while emphasizing that blackface outside this satirical context is objectionable. — Van Lathan
- A separate qualification agrees that it had to be as good as it was to meet that bar.
- A second answer says he is not offended by the blackface at all, understands the joke, and can laugh at material like it. — Joel Anderson
- Matthew McConaughey is proposed for Tug because Ben Stiller's version feels too similar to his Zoolander mode, with Stiller moving to Rick Peck. — Bill Simmons
- Bill Hader is proposed for Jeff Portnoy because he would have brought fresher improvisation than the already-established Jack Black. — Bill Simmons
- McConaughey as Tug is explicitly endorsed when Craig is asked, but the Jack Black replacement is challenged because Black's physicality and Chris Farley-like energy enliven the jungle passages. — Craig Horlbeck