Tropic Thunder might be the funniest movie I’ve seen this year, and more than that, it’s the first comedy I’ve seen in a while that felt like a complete movie, rather than just sketches floating in a premise.  The “never go full retard” scene alone is worth the price of admission (and Robert Downey Jr. in blackface could carry a movie even if the rest of it was about Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, and Brendan Fraser running a day care center).  But it’s not the only gem, it may not even be his best line.  Jokes just come easier when they’re built into a plot where you’re genuinely curious about what happens next.

I’ve read a few reviews that made a big deal of a be-fatsuited Tom Cruise’s cameo as the hairy, bald, megalomaniacal studio exec Harvey Weinstein, er, Les Grossman.  For me, he was easily the lowlight of an otherwise great movie.  The character could’ve been funny, but they ruined it with stunt casting.  Cruise isn’t self-aware enough to pull off self parody, and he’s not a good enough actor to take the character to any level beyond “Hee hee!  I’m Tom Cruise and I’m in a fat suit!”  You can feel his neediness – and it’s hard to be funny when you can’t relate to other humans.  Given the same makeup (which was impressive, especially the way they even gave him fat hands), any high school kid with half a semester of drama class under his belt could’ve done a better job.   

The real unexpected treat was Matthew McConaughey as Ben Stiller’s agent, “The Pecker”.  McConaughey’s committed enough to make you believe his ridiculous character and he’s hilarious when you least expect it.  Makes you wish he’d do more movies like this and less about… fuckin… treasure.

Tropic Thunder isn’t 100% perfect, but it has a way of moving the action forward and winning you back even after a swing and a miss.  It’s the first movie Ben Stiller has directed since Zoolander in 2001, and it makes you wonder if more comedies shouldn’t spend longer in development.  It just feels like there was more thought put into it.  Tom Cruise notwithstanding, I’m confident it’ll still find its way to your DVD shelf between Tommy Boy and Zoolander.  It’s the kind of comedy you’ll want to watch over and over.   

Grade: A-