Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder,” which has made $160 million worldwide

Tugg Speedman is a has-been action star who is one flop away from ruining his career. He’s betting that his new film – “the greatest Vietnam war movie ever made” – will propel him back to fame and fortune.

He’s joined by Kirk Lazarus, a 5-time Oscar winning method actor who will do anything for his roles – including changing his ethnicity – and Jeff Portnoy, a low brow comedic actor with a substance abuse problem.

Unfortunately, the film is US$100 million over budget and a month over schedule, even though they’ve only been shooting for five days. Through a series of mishaps, the actors believe they are still shooting the movie when they encounter an actual band of South-east Asian drug lords with very real guns. When Speedman is captured, the rest of his platoon must decide what to do.

Who’s in it?

As may be expected, this picture is heavy on explosions and war scenes. It will definitely provide the action junkie with his Hollywood fix. But the most compelling reason to watch this movie is not the action, but the acting. The star-studded cast manages some very entertaining performances.

Ben Stiller (Tugg Speedman) – Stiller continues to peddle his particular brand of humor with great success. He rose to stardom with “There’s Something About Mary”, then continued with a string of successes, including “Meet the Parents”, “Zoolander” and “Dodgeball.” Also serving as writer and director, no one leaves a greater creative imprint on the film than he does.

Robert Downey Jr. (Kirk Lazarus) – Downey Jr. delivers a knock-out performance as a Caucasian method actor so devoted to his craft that he changes his skin tone to play an Afro-American soldier. Though the role and his performance toe the line of inappropriateness, he is always entertaining. You may have seen him earlier this summer headlining “Iron Man.”

Jack Black (Jeff Portnoy) – Either you like Jack Black, or you don’t. He plays his character in this film with that same wired enthusiasm that audiences have come to both love and hate in films like “School of Rock” and “Nacho Libre.” His over-the-top energy fits well into this ensemble.

The supporting cast, which includes Matthew McConaughey, boasts a particularly rough-looking Nick Nolte as a Vietnam vet. One of the films absolute highlights is a near unrecognizable Tom Cruise in a fabulous unadvertised role. Look closely, you may miss him the first couple times he appears.

From where I’m sitting

I laughed out loud almost the whole way through this movie. This is the second feature that Ben Stiller has served as both writer and director, after “Zoolander” (2001). If you enjoyed that film, you should enjoy this one as well.

A lot of the humor is derived from its brilliant satire. The film makes interesting statements about power and ego in Hollywood, as well as a host of other subjects as diverse as race relations and American foreign policy. It is this intelligence in the humor that keeps the movie fresh all the way through.

On a more disappointing note, one scene parodying the myriad American films about the Vietnam war depicts the main characters gratuitously shooting up “charlie.” I felt quite uncomfortable sitting through those images with a roomful of Vietnamese people. It reminded me of the long ways Hollywood has yet to go in telling the full stories of non-Americans.

The film avoids commenting on Hollywood’s shallow depiction of Asians in general, and Vietnamese in particular. Considering it is a satirical comedy about the making of a Vietnam war picture, I thought it unfortunate that the movie completely avoided this discussion.

While “Tropic Thunder” has great potential for laughs, it also could very easily offend. It’s tricky (some may say insensitive) treatment of race and mental handicaps have already caused some controversy. And as is the trend, the language and sexual references are quite graphic, and sometimes even cringe inducing.

Despite this crudeness, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and would love to see it again. It’s quality shows that Ben Stiller is still on top of his game. Though Tugg Speedman’s career may be in trouble, I have a feeling Ben Stiller will be around for quite a while yet.

Don’t take my word for it

Because it had an extremely high budget for a comedy at $92 million, some were worried “Tropic Thunder” would not be commercially successful. To date, it has made $160 million worldwide. After giving the theaters their half of the gross, the studio still has about $20 million to go to break even. They’ll surely make a robust profit, however, on video sales.

The critics have been impressed with the intelligence of the film’s comedy and its non-stop energy, earning it a 83 percent on www.rottentomatoes.com.

By Aaron Toronto