incomplete but clever

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2008)

For starters, the movie starts out really well, and I won't say any more about that. However, the story starts to drift about forty minutes in, and it seemed like a long movie. I actually fell asleep during the climax but did wake up in time to see the end. And, I did not see any of the extras. There were pacing problems, and, at times, you wonder if the production had a director with a single vision. Ben Stiller and company kind of improvise a story around the making of a war movie based on a soldier's experience in Vietnam. When the actors start fighting, and wreck the director's schedule and budget, the technical adviser (Nick Nolte with a couple of years of grit on him) suggests they move production to a part of 'nam infested with real drug traffickers and shoot the movie "guerilla style." The director agrees, and drops the crew off to "act" against real danger. Unfortunately, the narrative isn't strong enough once it leaves the confines of the broken Hollywood production.
It simply isn't strong story telling. If this movie had been released during the height of Vietnam war movies, that problem would be incredibly obvious. So, without a strong story, the acting alone must sustain the comedy, and, sometimes, it doesn't. Also, some parts are downright disgusting. Tom Cruise's bombastic producer character and Robert Downey Jr.'s character are given too much to do, and Jack Black is sort of left in the background. Sure, they're funny, and they are given some really good material. There are good cameos, and the "bad guys" offer some brief moments of humor. There are some good digs at the "actor playing soldier," but few of them are truly funny. Most of the problems could have been fixed if Jack Black's character had as much depth as Downey Jr.'s. Maybe, he should have been the "butt kickin'" sergeant. There's a lot of byplay (usually involving Downey Jr. against anybody). It has it's moments, but it does leave you wanting more. Perhaps, the extras can fix that.