Tom Cruise portrayal of a Nazi in WWII solicited “uncomfortable and uncontrollable laughs” from audiences who attended an early screening of ”Valkyrie.” Unfortunately for Tom and the producers of the film, it was supposed to be a thriller, rather than an uncomfortable almost-comedy.

Among the “funny” scenes:

A scene where Cruise’s character, Claus Von Stauffenberg, is forced to give the infamous “Heil Hitler” salute. “It’s an unsettling scene but you almost start to laugh,” the source says. “His character is resisting it but you never forget it’s Tom Cruise saying ‘Heil Hitler.’ It’s funny and shocking at the same time.”

Sources also described a scene where Cruise’s character Claus Von Stauffenberg removes a false eye. “It was disgusting,” said one person who saw the film. “It was like watching someone pluck their contacts out.”

“The film just isn’t a thriller at all” said one “Valkyrie” viewer. “It’s a bunch of white guys in Nazi uniforms. It’s too bad. And Tom doesn’t speak with a German accent — though they did add a voiceover of him speaking German to the beginning of the film. Still, it’s as if he could say ‘I complete you’ at any time. This is not his Oscar moment.”

In case you’re wondering, Tom received three Oscar nominations throughout his career: in 1989 for “Born on the Fourth of July,” in 1996 for “Jerry Maguire,” and in 1999 for his supporting role in “Magnolia.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Tom Cruise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.