The new kings of comedy have made their impact felt and for the old dogs in the game, namely Ben Stiller, his smart-alecky comedic attempt to reclaim the crown, Tropic Thunder, undeniably provokes a few laughs, but mainly one that comes after a nervous cough.

The star-studded farce makes every effort to be outrageous and controversial (see the blackfaced Robert Downey, Jr. below), as it pokes fun at Hollywood and its stereotype of self-indulged, spoiled drug-abusing thespians. But in Tropic Thunder, Stiller and Jack Black find themselves outshined by Iron Man in a pretty startling and out-there role as Australian Academy Award winner Kirk Lazarus.

The plot is simple as it is a parody of shining stars and their faults. The gags are exaggerated to prove such a point. Black's comedic timing does little to save him as Jeff "Fats" Portnoy, a funnyman-turned-druggie. Black's usually spastic antics are co-signed by the fact that he's such a physical character. In Tropic Thunder, though, Black lacks that same punch that he's known for in solo turns in films like School of Rock and Nacho Libre.

Think of Tropic Thunder as a Rambo-ized version of Zoolander, but without the gut-busting laughs and cathchphrases. Stiller's co-writers, Justin Theroux and Ethan Cohen, pen a nutty tone with each character a stereotype of some sort. If Jack Black is the king of flactulence, Robert Downey, Jr. is the Oscar darling, Brandon T. Jackson plays the seriously-delusional-aspiring hip-hop guy du jour, Alpa Chino. Stiller saves himself best for last as the action-adventure superstar Tugg Speedman...

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