User:LancedSoul/sandbox/Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder is a 2008 action-comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film.

Plot
While shooting a war film, the director attempts to liven up proceedings by dropping the principle actors into the middle of a real jungle, claiming he is going to capture their performance with hidden cameras. The hapless group including drug-addled comedy star Jeff Portnoy and po-faced method man Kirk Lazarus are completely unaware when a series of unfortunate events leads them into the middle of a real war zone.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The fake trailers and ads are hilarious and awesome at the start of the movie, before the DreamWorks logo. Done well enough to make a theater audience momentarily think it's for real before going over-the-top in ridiculousness.

Reception
received generally positive reviews for its characters, story, faux trailers, and cast performances. However, the depiction of the mentally handicapped and use of blackface makeup attracted controversy.