In a strong recent stretch of comedies, Tropic Thunder is the best ... SPOILERS

SPOILERS Below.

I really liked it, (especially after just seeing "Hearts of Darkness" the documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now - TT doesn't even scratch the surface) but it wasn't as good as I anticipated. The timing was off here and there, Stiller couldn't decide what comedic level he was going for, it was satire in some spots, more generic comedy in other spots. I've usually liked Stiller, but he miscast himself in the lead. I buy RDJr as a hard-core thespian, Jack Black as a buffoonish Farley-esque comedian, but I don't buy Stiller as an action stud. The casting throws the balance off. The cameos by Cruise and McConaghey also threw the film out of whack to the point that McConaghey almost seemed to be the main protaganist in the film (he had to make the moral choice).
In the end, some stuff worked, some stuff didn't (the Panda scene), and other scenes were so funny it made everything else pale in comparison. Still didn't understand the basis of the book Nolte wrote (if he wasn't there, wouldn't the others have called him on it). A minor quibble, but like some other things (did they have real guns or did they only fire blanks?), it was a distraction from the movie.

 

I agree about Stiller. I heard Keanu Reeves was up originally for Stiller's part. ... that would have been really good. And helped earn some humility points, being he'd be making fun of himself.