Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) as Sgt. Lincoln Osiris .Okay, TROPIC THUNDER was funny enough in the theatrical version, so how do you top that for the DVD release? The answer is simple: make good on a joke from the film, namely insane Aussie uber-method actor Kirk Lazarus' (Robert Downey Jr.) comment that he wouldn't drop character as black soldier Sgt. Lincoln Osiris until he'd finished doing the DVD commentary, and that's exactly what you get with the director's cut. Downey does the entire commentary track in character as Osiris (despite being referred to constantly as "Robert" by his co-stars), and it's damned near impossible not to laugh your ass off as he rocks a ridiculous "black" voice throughout, commenting not only on the movie itself but also on his co-stars, Ben Stiller and Jack Black, saving special abuse for Black who had the gall to show up late for the track's recording. And as if that wasn't crazy enough, he also provides the vocie for when Lazarus as Osiris does the voice of a Vietnamese rice farmer that the character impersonates, and then he drops into character as straight-up Aussie Kirk Lazarus when Lazarus drops character as Osiris. finally finishing the last five minutes or so of the commentary as Robert Downey Jr.! This is a rare case where not only is the movie worth buying on DVD, the looney commentary actually adds to the fun, so this gets an offical Vault of Buncheness nod for going above and beyond in giving the movie fan more than their money's worth. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
You get the credit - and the blame - for me seeing this one in the first place. I had totally pegged Tropic Thunder as a "miss" untl your review. I'm really glad you changed my mind, because it rates as perhaps the funniest film I've seen all year(*). Downey is brilliant, but the rest of the cast impressed me, too - especially Stiller, who hadn't done much for me since his turn as Mr. Furious in Mystery Men almost ten years ago. Above all else (well, maybe not above Downey's performance...) was the script, whose jet-black humor was obvious the work of Ethan "sick puppy" Cohen. As a dedicated Cohen Brothers fan, I laughed my ass off. Sure, I'll watch it again on the DVD - wit the commentary track going, to boot. Thanks, Bunche!
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* - Although Burn After Reading came close.