Tropic Thunder (2008)

Let's get this out of the way: Ben Stiller is still not funny. Luckily, most everyone else in the film is. The setup is simple enough: a foursome of self-absorbed movie stars try to make an Apocalypse Now style war film, and the director decides it would be easier to keep his cast in line by sending them out into the tropic jungles of Indonesia. Broadly painted, R-rated hilarity ensues. By all rights, this is a film that tries way to hard to make us laugh, throwing hundreds of obvious, predictable punchlines shouted through a powerful surround mix while explosions dance around on the screen. It's frequently too much, however a sufficient number of gags penetrate the miasma of noise and still hit home. In particular, Robert Downy Jr. as a method actor in gloriously offensive black face for the movie's duration manages to send up both racial stereotypes in film as well as the practice of method acting in general. Also a delight is an extended cameo by Tom Cruise that shows the controversial actor still has his sense of humor. So it's a lot of pointless noise for it's own sake, and the leading man is pretty much dead on arrival—it really doesn't matter. There's enough charm left in its overblown production to make its two hours go down with a smile.

7 out of 10.