It’s been a while, and I honestly thought that it was never going to happen, but I think I have now found a glimmer of hope that Ben Stiller will be in a good, funny movie once again. Let’s face it, Mr. Stiller’s track record hasn’t been great lately with such shit as “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Night at the Museum” (Yes, I know the latter made a lot of money, but did you see it? It sucked.  I challenge you to go rent it, watch it, and then not return and ask for your $3.95 back.), both movies were far less than entertaining and I can’t remember the last time I found him funny.

However, there seems to be a light on the horizon with his latest project, “Tropic Thunder”; Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey, Jr. star as… well… stars, who while filming a war movie get caught up in a real conflict and have to rely on the small amount of boot camp training they received to learn their roles. Stiller plays the stereotypical action star, Black plays the comedic schtick guy, and Downey plays the award winning actor who gets plastic surgery to become black… yes, Downey plays a “black” guy; there are also cameos by Tom Cruise (supposedly as a nearly unrecognizeable fat guy), Matthew McConaughey, and Tobey Maguire. Strictly judging by the trailer the movie looks promising, and hopefully signals a return to Stiller doing movies that are actually funny, despite the fact he is doing “Night at the Museum II”, maybe Tropic Thunder will be enough to let that slide…