Reel Critic:

“Tropic Thunder” is the last big blast of the summer and a direct hit for fans of crazy R-rated comedies. The film industry jokes may be a little too inside for people in the heartland, but the director, Ben Stiller, thinks outside the conservative laughter box and delivers a film worthy of your consideration.

Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. star as three famous actors stuck on location shooting a big-budget war movie in Vietnam.

Everything goes haywire, and the prima donnas end up fighting a real war against heroin-producing guerrillas. Can the super-soft thespians survive the production, finish the movie and save their careers? Is it possible in today’s politically correct climate for a popular white actor to wear “blackface” and get laughs? By averaging one offensive joke a minute, it takes only an hour and a half to answer these questions.

When I went to my screening, I was shocked to see people picketing “Tropic Thunder” and complaining that the film is degrading to the “intellectually challenged.” If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you know I’m not the brightest guy in journalism. That being said, I wasn’t offended at all. The entire movie is a big joke making fun of everyone, but mostly mocking actors and the studio system.

If you consider yourself a serious person and you rarely laugh at stupid jokes, please avoid this film at all costs. I know these people exist because they were hassling me as I tried to enter the theater.

The biggest and brightest star in “Tropic Thunder” is Downey Jr. His portrayal of Australian actor Kirk Lazarus and the colorful way he gets into character while playing an ultra-tough black soldier, is one for the comedy ages. Every scene he appears in made my audience laugh, and Downey Jr. also has the most memorable lines in the sharply written script.

The rest of the actors handle the material with ease, and Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey also pop up with important cameo roles. Cruise’s prosthetic performance as studio head Les Grossman could reinvent his career as a comedic powerhouse.

The film is not flawless, and average citizens probably won’t get a lot of the Hollywood jokes or moviemaking references. Since so many people in Los Angeles work or they’re looking for work in the “industry,” this film will play much better in our paparazzi-filled town. I can’t see my brother, who lives in Tennessee, laughing as much as I did, but I’ve been wrong before.