Ben Stiller's funniest movie yet

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2009)

I have never been much of a Ben Stiller fan. I have always thought that when he succeeds, it was more due to the people surrounding him than any actual talent. This has been true from his earliest days on MTV (Janeane Garafolo, Andy Dick) through his late-'90's commercial peak (Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro) up to today (Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson). "Tropic Thunder" does not change my opinion. What sets "Tropic Thunder" apart is that this time one of his more-talented collaborators is cinematic genius Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the script.
The plot of "Tropic Thunder" is fairly thin, so I won't go into much detail except to say that it is about the filming of a Vietnam War drama, and fans of "Platoon", "Apocolypse Now", "Born on the Fourth of July", "Hamburger Hill" and "Full Metal Jacket" will see scenes from these movies all spoofed surprisingly well.
I should say something about the characters. Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a cross between Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone, a middle-aged, washed up action star trying to go back to playing the sorts of roles that got him nominated for Oscars back in his twenties. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a cross between Eddie Murphy and Robert Downey Jr, a drug addict trying to break out of slapstick comedy roles. Downey himself plays Kirk Lazarus, a cross between De Niro and Russell Crowe, an intense Australian method actor who has undergone surgery to make himself black for the role. Brandon Jackson plays Alpa Chino, a gangster rapper with a secret, whose sole purpose in the movie is to point out that Lazarus's attempts to be black are offensive. And finally, there's Tom Cruise as Les Grossman, the amoral studio head who has all the best lines (all written--I am convinced--by Coen).
As a director, Stiller falls into the usual trap: There are way too many close-ups of him making a not-that-silly face and speaking in a not-that-silly voice. I didn't find the "Simple Jack" stuff offensive so much as just annoying.
But I will give credit where credit is due. Downey actually deserves his Oscar nomination for this one. Jack Black has never done a comedy in which he wasn't funny or gave less than 100%, and this is no exception. And Tom Cruise steals every scene he is in. Each time he was on screen, I nearly died laughing.
Overall, "Tropic Thunder" is the funniest movie of 2009. It is Stiller's funniest work to date, even if it doesn't live up to Ethan Coen's previous comedic standards ("Raising Arizona", "O Brother Where Art Thou"). 8 out of 10.