Wow - Funny and Interesting!

Rating: Null/10 (26 August 2008)

Comedy is pretty subjective and I generally wait for comedy movies to come to DVD or TV before viewing them. However, the high critical ratings caused me to go see this one in the theaters. It was pretty darn impressive. There are several levels of humor going on and to boot, the story is actually interesting all by itself.
The basics: The movie is about a group of actors who get stranded in a Vietnamese jungle while making a war movie. They find they have to fend for themselves and look for a way out. It sounds simple enough - but there's danger, a crazy studio boss, kidnapping, Tivo and more to contend with.
Performance-wise, Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant. As is said in the movie, he's "a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude." He gets a little too deep into his role as an African-American soldier ... and he's just amazing to watch. It's hard to imagine that he's NOT actually who he's portraying. Jack Black and Tom Cruise are also fun to watch.
The story is engaging and there lots of types of humor (situational, comic pop references and a variety of funny exchanges) - so this movie is pretty good bet as far as entertainment. All in all, you're bound to find something to enjoy.