Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie Want to do A Les Grossman Film! Would it Work?

Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie Want to do A Les Grossman Film! Would it Work?

Tropic Thunder is a comedy that was written by, directed by, and starred Ben Stiller. Quite possibly the scene stealing character in that film was Tom Cruise’s surprise appearance as Les Grossman. There’s been talks and rumors about Les Grossman being in development for a while. While promoting Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the director Christopher McQuarrie gave some updates about the possible film. Let’s talk about it! 

General Idea: The broad idea, what do I think about a Tropic Thunder spinoff starring Tom Cruise as Les Grossman? I’m very nervous about this idea. I rewatched Tropic Thunder just a couple weeks back and that film is hilarious. The jokes land perfectly and is one of the best comedies of the last 20 years. Despite the film being 20 years old, some of the jokes are just as relevant today as they were when it came out. Of course one of the stand out characters and bits in that film is Les Grossman. If you didn’t know, Grossman was Tom Cruise’s idea. Basically Ben Stiller showed Tom the script for Tropic Thunder for advice and feedback. Tom mentioned the idea of having a producer character in there. Tom said that he would want to play that character but not look like himself. The look of Grossman plus him dancing was all Tom’s idea. While he’s in a film that Stiller wrote, directed, and starred in, the whole idea of Grossman was Tom’s idea. That’s why Tom and McQuarrie have been talking so much about this idea. But I have some concerns with this idea…

1. Is Ben Stiller Involved?: This was one of the first questions I had when I saw this interview, would Ben Stiller be involved? This could really make or break this idea for me. While the idea of Grossman was all Tom, the reason why it worked was because Stiller’s comedic writing was so good. He’s one of the great comedic actors of the last 30 years. So much of why the character worked was because of that. His ability to write great satirical comedy is good and it's why Tropic Thunder works as well as he does. Based on McQ’s statements, it didn’t sound like he would write & direct the film but he would produce the film in some way. If he was a producer, then I’m fine with that. Him and Tom seem to work really well together so it makes sense. McQ’s involvement isn’t where I’m concerned. I’m a big Mission Impossible fan and his collaborations with Tom are all largely fantastic. I just hope that Ben writes and directs the film, we’ve seen McQ do big action and be very successful at it. But I doubt his comedic writing is as good or close to as good as Ben. If McQ is producing the film and you have Ben writing and directing then I’m ok with it. If Ben isn’t involved at all, then I’m concerned about the film and my fears would grow even higher. Nothing has been announced yet so I don’t wanna jump to any conclusion, but this is a concern that I have. 

2. Does Les Grossman Work in the Lead?: The other question I have and I’m sure other people will have is, does Les Grossman work in the lead? I hope whatever they do they don’t make him the star. Grossman is a spice character. You add in a few scenes in Tropic Thunder and he makes it great. He steals every single scene that he’s in. The images of him dancing during the credits are iconic. He used just the right amount in the film and I don’t want a 90 minute film with him. In a film, your protagonist needs to grow and change. They need a character arc where the person they were at the beginning is different by the end of it. Several franchises have done this where they take the scene stealing side character and put them front and center. Pixar made that mistake with Mater in Cars 2. Illumination decided to make Minions, neither one of those films are great. The vision I had for this film was you do Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I’m not saying that plot, hear me out. In that film we all think that Jack Sparrow is the star. Johnny Depp is top billed and Sparrow is the most popular character. The protagonist of the film is Will Turner. Turner goes on the adventure to rescue Elizabeth and gets Sparrow’s help in the process. Sparrow is a very prominent side character in the film. That’s the model for what they should do with this film. Grossman isn’t the star, but he’s a very prominent co-lead in the film. Maybe we get Bill Hader to return as the assistant and you have him in the lead. I’m not exactly what you do, but I don’t think it’s wise to make Les Grossman the star of the film. 

3. Comedy Has Changed: Tropic Thunder is nearly 20 years old and there’s a lot of jokes in these films that would not work today. That’s been one of the conversation pieces about modern comedies is why aren’t they good anymore or we haven’t had a comedy classic in 15 years. So much of it is the idea that people are much more sensitive now. Back in the ‘80s & ‘90s you could get away with a lot. So many comedies from 20-30 years ago are hilarious but wouldn’t work today because of the jokes. That’s the main reason why we don’t have as many comedies that are instant classics. People are afraid to be the edgy person and both boundaries because people will attack them for it. You watch Tropic Thunder and there’s a lot of jokes that wouldn’t work today. The edginess of the film and how far it’s willing to go is what makes it hilarious. Finding whatever that angle is with a Les Grossman film that’s true to Tropic Thunder but also fits into modern times, I don’t know what that is. Maybe McQ and Cruise have something figured out, I trust them with that. I just don’t know what it is. No matter what they put out there’s going to be people frustrated with the product and not accepting of it because of what it’s communicating and saying. I’ve had an idea for a possible Tropic Thunder sequel with the rise of streaming, but I don’t know if the comedy is still there. The other thing in this, Tropic Thunder was before the Harvey Weinstein allegations came out. Les Grossman being a stereotype of movie executives, how is that going to play post-Weinstein? I don’t know and that could make things uncomfortable. 

Final Thoughts: I know it sounds like I’m being very negative about this idea. To be clear, I trust Tom Cruise. His batting average is really strong, he doesn’t have a lot of misses. Him partnered up with McQ is a great combination. They’ve of course done four Mission Impossibles, McQ was one of the people that helped bring Top Gun: Maverick to life. McQ also wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects and won an Oscar. He’s a very talented screenwriter and visionary. But he’s not Ben Stiller and if Ben Stiller isn’t involved then I’m very concerned. But if they get Stiller back and Cruise and McQ are producers then I could get very excited for the film. These were just some of the major concerns I have when I first heard this news and McQ’s comments.