by Thomas Ferguson

If you are lover of politically incorrect comedy like myself, then I have the perfect movie for you, Tropic Thunder . A farce that has already been riddled with a fire storm of controversy and protest.

Ben Stiller co- writes, directs, and stars in one of the most outrageous comedies of the year. Tropic Thunder takes a look at Hollywood  in a very unconventional way. Five overly pampered actors are in the middle of shooting a war epic when their plans get horribly side tracked.

The director(Steve Coogan) is under extreme pressures and scrutiny from the studio to get this movie made, but his whiny actors and negligent crew are holding up the production.

As a last resort, he puts his actors in the middle of an actual war zone to force realistic performances out of them using his new style of gorilla filmmaking. Unfortunately, the actors get more than they bargained for when they realize they are truly in harms way and must come together to find their way out of the jungle.

When I say this movie is outrageous, I truly mean it. Let’s just begin with the beginning. A series of coming attractions featuring stars; Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. that are extremely over-the-top. If you saw Grindhouse last year, then you have an idea of what I’m talking about. If you didn’t, do your self a favor and don’t be late! It was absolutely hysterical. 

This leads me to the highlight of the entire movie. Robert Downey Jr...Robert Downey Jr....Robert Downey Jr. If this man does not get an Oscar nomination, I will have to do my own protesting. As you may well know, Downey plays Kirk Lazarus, a five time Oscar-winning Australian actor who undergoes a controversial procedure that changes his pigment dark so that he may successfully play his role of a black soldier.

Some might find it a bit racist, but I found it funny in this context. The one thing that I know may offend people are the mentally challenged jokes. They were a bit hard to watch for me, but other than that, I had a good time with this movie.

There were some pacing issues mid way through, but the performances really drive this vehicle, especially a stand out performance by a nearly unrecognizable Tom Cruise. Boy, I almost forgot he could dance.