Tropic Thunder (2008, USA)

The debate has been raging for at least a week thus far, so I might as well weigh in – I found Pineapple Express funnier than Tropic Thunder. There’s a lot of funny stuff in Thunder, most of it involving Robert Downey Jr. and the rest of the supporting cast, but it doesn’t have the depth that Express does. I know! A stoner comedy that’s deeper than a Hollywood satire, but there you go. Ben Stiller doesn’t really seem interested in pushing past some of the easiest of targets – actors playing the mentally infirm (sorry, RETARDED) in order to secure awards, megalomaniacal Jewish studio heads, self-absorbed actors, out-of-their-depth British directors – and as a result, Thunder is sure to cast off a lot of quotable lines, but has no hope of maintaining the credibility of a satire like Borat. Personally, I still prefer Zoolander and The Cable Guy, neither of which seems to revel in the same world its lampooning.