Rating of
3.5/4
Laughter as loud as thunder
goodfellamike - wrote on 08/21/08
A rather hilarious, but exhausting action satire on Hollywood and the lengths gone to film certain movies; Stiller succeeds more as writer/director than star and gives us some true belly laughs in the form of faux movie trailers, and hilarious performances from method actor Downey Jr. who goes to extreme lengths to get into character, and Tom Cruise, in heavy make-up; the film is less successful in its treatment of action, which is uncomfortably lame and over-the-top and allows Jack Black to overcompensate for his underwritten role as the fat, heroin-addicted actor who goes through withdrawals in the jungle. The strengths do somehow outweigh the pitfalls and in the end one remembers the hysterical more than the groans. FInal Grade: B
