Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. lead an ensemble cast in Tropic Thunder, an action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors (isn't that redundant?) who set out to make the biggest war film ever. After ballooning costs and out-of-control egos threaten to shut down production, Nick Nolte convinces the frustrated director that rather than stop shooting the film, he should take the cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia for increased realism. The plan starts to unravel when they inadvertently encounter real bad guys and find themselves in a fight for survival. Some truly hilarious moments ensue.

Tropic Thunder hits a rare triumvirate: it's an eclectic mix of pee-your-pants hilarity, clench-your-ears verbal vulgarity, and search-for-the-remote long-windedness. Folks, I haven't laughed this hard at the theater in a long time, but unfortunately those good times only encompass about 50% of the film's runtime. The movie's needless crude language (I wish I could erase from my memory some of the stuff Jack Black said during the scene where he's tied to a tree), and its nearly two-hour length taint what otherwise would've been a must-see.

The mockery of Hollywood's do-good elite is ingenious. Whether its Robert Downey's brilliant portrayal of the over-the-top method actor ("I don't read the script; the script reads me,"), the slap upside the face of the war movie genre (I was howling at Matthew McConaughey's role as the deus ex machina), or the exposé on actors' exploitation of the mentally deficient, Tropic Thunder hits it out of the park.

Ignore the brouhaha from the disability groups who were upset by the use of the word "retard" to refer to one of the film's characters - Simple Jack. The film isn't making fun of those with mental handicaps; it's taking to task those actors who know playing such a character is almost a sure-fire way to earn an Oscar nomination. Disability groups should be offended when the likes of Rosie O'Donnell spit out Riding the Bus with My Sister and do such a bad job of acting that they make the mentally disabled character they're portraying annoying and unlikable. Stand in line with your picket sign because of THAT.

Anyway, I walked away a little disappointed because I feel the film could have been so much better. Seriously, why was this so long? At points it just draaaaags. Trim the fat, excise some of the language and vulgarity, and produce a tight 90-minute film and you've got something I can recommend to almost everybody. Unless, of course, you're easily offended by things such as Ben Stiller hurling a little Asian kid off the side of a bridge. Sure, it might sound horrifying when read on paper, but trust me, within the context of this film and its goals it's absolutely hysterical. At least to me. If you remain unconvinced then it might be safest to stick with Disney.

• A friend at work informed me that E! True Hollywood Story did an episode where Stiller, Black, and Downey Jr. were interview but they all stayed in character. He said it was hilarious, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a rerun.



• The fake trailers at the beginning of the movie are hilarious, and if you're easily offended then you may want to skip the film's first 3 or 4 minutes - immediately prior to the trailers.



• Keep an eye out for many funny cameos.



• Kudos to Martin Lawrence for his willingness to appear in the poster for the fake film Chitlin and the Dude. That's good stuff right there.



• Ben Stiller was in Flirting with Disaster with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.

Um, I'm gonna slap this with a little statement I like to refer to as "nope." Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material, Tropic Thunder will send mothers, grandmothers, children, Sunday School classes, people who are easily offended, and people who prefer not to hear a large number of "f" bombs, vain uses of the Lord's name, and crude comments screaming for the hills. Wow, that was an awkward sentence.

The trailer certainly gives you a strong indication of what to expect as far as the style of humor is concerned. However, the degree to which it earns its R-rating is not exactly displayed.

Tough call. I dare not give this one a blanket recommendation. Are there laughs to be had? Absolutely. But keep in mind you need a strong stomach for the offensive. Think along the lines of Team America. For some of you it may be safest to wait and catch the edited-for-TV version. Like I said previously, it could use some trimming.