Too politically correct to be truly memorable

Rating: 3/10 (8 January 2009)

I was highly anticipating this film - after seeing an extended trailer, it seemed that for the first time in some years, a comedy with real intelligence and bite was being foisted upon us. I missed it in theaters, but grabbed it on DVD.
I was initially positive about it, but after a retake, I broke down. It's certainly well-mounted with great production values and good performances, but loses its way in the overt attempt to entertain and hand-hold the audience that dooms most foul-mouthed comedies to unmemorable mediocrity. Too many parody and satire sequences are played so broadly that one laughs at the spectacle rather than the subtle jabs that really could put it above most junk out there.
And that's really a shame, because I've seen it all before, and more importantly because Stiller and company just nail it in a few small truly memorable exchanges, most of which include Robert Downey, Jr. People describe the obvious "Heart of Darkness", "Platoon", and "Rambo" references, but the script quotes and alludes to so many films, producers, and actors that it's a virtual beehive of smack.
To put it succinctly, I think that Stiller and Company wanted to make a sharp, biting satire on the business, but felt the need to couch it in a typically raunchy, pedestrian framework in order to bring in the largest possible audience (and the largest cash flow).
And what's left? Just F-bomb country and small organ mentality, particularly from that hog of a Jack Black. All of this is a bit too politically correct for me, and therefore, in a sense, the film parodies itself. Upon reflection, I can only give it a 3 out of 10 simply for the exchanges between Downey and Stiller.
It's not too hard to imagine that Downey could receive an Oscar nomination for this because that's what the world of film has come down to - a world where subtlety and thought is drowned in frantic excess.