comedy, fast and furious, and plenty of it

Rating: 7/10 (2 November 2008)

A bunch of prissy actors making a Vietnam War movie are thrown into guerrilla-style movie-making by their put-upon director. A series of freak accidents sees them fighting heavily-armed heroin producers in the Golden Triangle of South-east Asia.
Now, having said that, this film needs a plot outline like Bill Gates needs a handout. The comedy is hit-and-miss, but comes so fast, and in such quantity, that you never need to dwell on the dull moments. Audiences will be discussing their favourite lines for years to come. Personally, pretty much everything that came out of Robert Downey Jr. as a method-obsessed Aussie star (taking the pish out of Russel Crowe may be the bravest decision Stiller made in this film) was a gem, but "I don't read scripts, scripts read me" takes some beating. Stiller is always better when reacting than acting. Here, he tries to be the funny one too often, and so gets little chance to do what he does best. Jack Black is a disappointment, the over-acting that served him so well in School of Rock is cringe-inducing here.
It is not as cynical as The Player, or as playful as Bowfinger, but TT finds its niche in the genre of Hollywood parodies based on its shotgun approach. The comedy works best when it comes from the interplay of characters - Lazarus and Alpa Chino especially. It is less funny when parodying well-known scenes from Platoon, Apocalypse Now and bizarrely, Close Encounters. Tom Cruise does outstanding work as the ego-maniacal producer, but that particular archetype is slightly too well-worn. Cruise does well with a familiar type, rather than breaking new ground.
TT needs more than one viewing to appreciate all the gags. I for one will go back to it.