Tropic Thunder is a gold farmer

Chances are that if you've turned on a TV lately, you've either seen a preview for Tropic Thunder or heard about the controversy surrounding it. Chances are that if you're a normal person, you couldn't possibly care less about how many times the word "retard" is tossed around in the movie or how the mentally challenged are portrayed in movies. Chances are that if you see the movie, you will laugh. Hard.

From the moment the movie starts, you know you're in for a treat. It opens to a fake commercial for Booty Sweat and Bust a Nut, followed by 'previews' for Scorcher 6, Satan's Alley and the Fatties: Fart 2. The commentary couldn't be more fitting, since everyone in the theater just sat through twenty minutes of advertisements and previews.

That isn't the only satire the movie holds, though. All the characters are stereotypical actors. Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, the action guy(think of him as Vin Diesel with hair). Robert Downey Jr. is Kirk Lazarus, the method actor(he's basically Russell Crowe playing Fred Williamson). Jack Black is Jeff Portnoy, the comedian(Eddie Murphy, only fat and white). Finally, Brandon T. Jackson plays Alpa Chino, the rapper turned actor with his own product lines(take your pick). They all play their parts pretty well. As offensively as possible, anyway. The only REAL acting job here is Robert Downey Jr.'s. He stays in character almost the entire movie. He's almost believable in his black face, save for the fact that he constantly spouts stereotypical lines. The rest of the cast is pretty good, as well. A lot of the laughs are built around the ridiculous amount of cameos in the movie.

The plot is fairly inventive. It's one of the more original stories that you'll see in Hollywood, these days. That's probably because it makes fun of the predictability of other movies. The dialogue is sharp and fun. It's also what makes the movie so offensive. Everyone gets lampooned in this movie: actors, Australians, directors, producers, rappers, the mentally challenged, etc.

You can clearly see where the budget of over one-hundred-million dollars went. Big name actors in lead roles and cameos, grandiose scale, lots of special effects, etc. It's the most epic comedy I've seen in a while, if not ever.

In the end, the movie is well worth seeing. Don't go in expecting the funniest or best comedy of the year. Go in expecting to get your dollar's worth, though. That is, of course, assuming you're not overly sensitive.