Production on the Vietnam War epic Tropic Thunder (the movie in the movie) seems doomed: Costs are sky-rocketing, the schedule is slipping, and the director is unable to control his three prima-donna stars (the ageing action star, the Australian method actor, and the flatulence comedian). When the studio threatens to pull the plug, the director, the author, and the special effects guy come up with the plan drop the actors into the middle of the jungle, and let real fear inspire their acting. Unfortunately, they stumble into the territory of real heroin smugglers, and mistake them for scripted Vietcong.

Tropic Thunder (the movie about the movie in the movie) is written, produced, directed, and starred by Ben Stiller. As a big Ben Stiller fan, I have to agree that his recent offerings have been entertaining but not very memorable. With Tropic Thunder, however, he is back on the top of his game. I am also an aficionado of movies about movies, and it does not do shame to that genre, either. Wonderful cast, too, starting with the actors (Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, and the excellent Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel), but also the director (Steve Coogan), the agent (Matthew McConaughey with weird hair) the Vietnam vet author (Nick Nolte), and a delightfully deformed and foul-mouthed Tom Cruise.

8 points