Military comedy thunders ahead of ‘Dark Knight’

DreamWorks’ “Tropic Thunder” dethroned “The Dark Knight” to capture the top spot at the box office this past weekend.

The war comedy starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. earned $26 million over the last three days — and $37 million since its opening last Wednesday.

Actors Tugg Speedman (Stiller), Jeff Portnoy (Black) and Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.) find out that the war movie they’re making forces them to become real soldiers.

Each actor has their own bit of history and baggage going into this collaboration.

Action star Speedman routinely saves the world as the star of the Scorcher series, and is in desperate need of a comeback film.

Speedman has been cast to be John “Four Leaf” Tayback, the real-life war veteran in the film “Tropic Thunder” (a film within a film).

Portnoy is tired of being celebrated for his girth and prodigious flatulence and wants to try something serious.

But serious drama is all Lazarus, the five-time Oscar winner from Australia, has ever known. Lazarus, who is blond and blue-eyed, is cast as a black man for most of the movie.

They come together as a unit in Southeast Asia to film a Vietnam War movie directed by first-time filmmaker Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), a trigger-happy explosions expert Cody (Danny McBride), and the real “Four Leaf” (Nick Nolte), who wants Speedman to keep things as real as possible.

However, things go horribly wrong back in Hollywood, as studio chief Les Grossman (Tom Cruise in a surprise role), threatens to pull the plug on the runaway production.

In the meantime, Speedman’s agent (Matthew McConaughey) goes to any length to make sure his client is happy.

The three actors end up becoming real life soldiers in a war they presumed was just a part of a film.

Downey, in his second blockbuster film of the summer (“Iron Man”) is absurdly funny, as he manages to annoy people with his portrayal of a black man.

Stiller, who directed and co-wrote the film, has some good comedic moments himself.

The entire cast effectively lampoons cinematic clichés, for instance, an exchange between Downey and Stiller about playing disabled characters has spawned real-life protests.

Though perhaps insensitive, neither the dialogue nor the plot is truly mean-spirited, but that’s to be determined by one’s own eyes.

There are times when “Tropic Thunder” comes off as silly and shallow, but you’ll end up laughing at something during this movie.

This war, huh, what is it good for — “Tropic Thunder” is good for some laughs at three out of four stars.

“Tropic Thunder” is rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material. Running time is 1 hour, 47 minutes.

After enjoying the last month at No. 1, Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight” descended to No. 2 with $16.8 million. With $471.5 million, “The Dark Knight” is now in second place on the all-time box office rankings, trailing “Titanic” with $600.8 million.

Sony Pictures’ “Pineapple Express” pulled into the fifth spot at the box office, after dropping from No. 2, with $10 million. The Seth Rogan/James Franco comedy has earned and burned $63 million in ten days.

Universal Pictures’ “The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor” didn’t come unraveled as it only fell to No. 6 with $8.6 million — its three-week total at $87 million.

Sony Pictures’ “Step Brothers” fell from the top five to No. 9 with $5 million. The Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly comedy has earned $91 million over the past month.

For more information and show times, contact Regal Cinemas Marketplace 24, 180 Mill Rd., Oaks, at 610-666-6697.

Dennis J. Wright can be reached at dwright@phoenixvillenews.com.