Every now and then a goofy, ridiculous comedy comes out that actually makes you laugh. I don't  mean to be so jaded at the tender age of 26, but after so many mainstream slick studio packages, it's tough to believe that anyone in Hollywood has an honest to God sense of humor. I'll just go ahead and say it: "Tropic Thunder" restores my faith in humanity.

I won't go too much into the plot, out of fear of ruining anything for someone who hasn't seen it. Huge egos and idiocy lead to major budget problems and delays on fictional director Damien Cockburn's Vietnam film.  At the behest of 'Nam vet and author Four Leaf Tayback, Cockburn decides to try to put his actors in a real combat setting to improve their performances. As always, things don't go as planned.

This movie was fantastic for so many reasons. Tom Cruise's barely recognizable performance as a monstrous studio exec. Matthew McConaughey's enormously entertaining most loyal agent of all time. Bloody black humor, non-stop movie i-jokes (the beginning and end are right out of "Platoon," not to mention all the "Hearts of Darkness" shout-outs). And to top it all, Robert Downey Jr.'s role as an Australian method actor playing the most stereotyped blacksplotation African American possible. Between Tony Stark and Kirk Lazarus, no one can deny that this was Robert Downey Jr's year. Please, please, please buy this DVD.

These extras are wonderful, too (at least on the double disc edition). As you would expect from a movie about making movies, there is a great deal of footage about how the movie was made. There was a lot of special FX bits, like Tom Cruise's dancing make-up test. Featurettes show how the movie was conceived and executed. Outtakes, alternate bits and deleted scenes will make you realize that you've just lost hours of your life. But the greatest of all is the actors' commentary. In "Tropic Thunder," Kirk Lazarus says he doesn't drop character until he does the DVD commentary. He does not lie.

The only problem I have with the movie is just with the concept of DVD "UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT!"s in general. This time honored gross marketing gimmick almost always results in the movie feeling a little flabby and prolonged (look to any of the Apatow DVD's for proof of this). I feel this version didn't move as quickly as the theatrical version, but it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment. However, I am happy the first version I saw was the faster one.

A wonderful DVD package of one of 2008's most glistening theatrical jewels.