Ben Stiller says "Tropic Thunder" is a "a comedy about five actors who go on location and find themselves relying on their boot camp experiences when they get stuck in a real war-like situation." Black will play Jeff "Fats" Portnoy, an overweight gross-out comedian, who's forced to kick his drug addiction while filming on location in the jungle. Downey Jr. will play Kirk Lazarus, the greatest actor of his generation and a four-time Oscar winner. Baruchel will play Kevin Sandusky, an unknown actor on the set and Stiller plays Speedman.

MOVIE REVIEW

Review by Nathan Samdahl (B-)

Once again I made the mistake I always try to avoid.  That mistake of course is to come into Tropic Thunder with too high of expectations.  While the trailers were never phenomenal, I found it hard to imagine a film that starred Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte and Tom Cruise to be an endeavor that would end up being surprisingly flat and that would miss the comic mark so many times.  Don't get me wrong, the film has hilarious moments, mostly courtesy of Downey Jr. who plays the leading African American role in the film within the film.  Also, the visuals are fantastic, thanks to one of my favorite cinematographers John Toll (The Thin Red Line, Braveheart).   But despite having almost every conceivable element working in favor of the film being great, it just isn't.
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