If there's a lesson to be learned from "Tropic Thunder" it's that Ben Stiller must only appear in material he writes and/or directs.  I was actually a little pissed after seeing "Tropic Thunder" when I thought of all the great work Stiller could have done since his last directorial effort, "Zoolander".  How many laughs did we lose while he wasted time with crap like "The Heartbreak Kid" and "Envy"?  Well, that's the past and hopefully we won't have to wait another seven years for Stiller to deliver like he does here.

While the trailers make Downey Jr. seem like the highlight performance of the film, he's only its second best.  Paramount has wisely kept the best performer out of all the trailers and commercials.  I cannot stress the amount of goodwill this guy will earn from "Tropic Thunder" but all of it is well-deserved.  The performance isn't super-secret so just don't hunt out any more information on "Tropic Thunder" till you see it.

But this really was Downey Jr.'s summer and he ends it with as good a film as "Iron Man".  It's going to be tough to find a better monologue this year than Downey Jr. talking about "The Full Retard".