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Lately I’ve been a bit gun-shy about people recommending movies to me, especially after that disaster of a recommendation for Step Brothers, which left me rocking in a fetal position afterwards. (See http://blogadoodle.org/step-brothers-a-review/)  Then a couple days ago I received an email from one of my best friends which read as follows:

 Now, this poses another problem, as I’m a bit off Ben Stiller right now.  Now don’t get me wrong, he’s an actor that I really like a lot.    Keeping the Faith is in my top 20 Faves.  Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, Great!  Something About Mary, Along Came Polly, Night at the Museum, I own them all.  I really do like him.  But then I just watched The Heartbreak Kid (http://blogadoodle.org/double-dvd-day/) yesterday and I was disappointed with it so I didn’t want a strike 2 this close together.  But I went anyway since the power went out at home due to the storm, so I couldn’t continue on with the DVD marathon.

I went into this movie with somewhat low expectations.  Even though my friend has the exact same sense of humor as me most of the time, I was apprehensive and decided to approach it with caution.  I always say that one should think negatively about all aspects of life (I hate people who say think positive).  If you always assume the worst you’re rarely disappointed and if the outcome turns out good then you are pleasantly surprised.

I can say that I was truly, pleasantly surprised.  Now let me caveat this review by saying that this movie is not for everyone.  In fact, it’s not in my top 20.  A bit graphic for kids, jokes that might go over the heads of some, and my mother would prefer to fall sleep then finishing watching this one.  There is the issue about them poking fun at the people with mental retardation.  Ben explained it well when interviewed by saying that it’s not about making fun of mental retardation, it about making fun of actors who think that they are qualified to play difficult roles cause they read a book or Googled it.  Still there are those that will be offended and to those people I say, “stay away from all middle school playgrounds, cause teenage girls throw the word ‘Retarded’ around like it’s a nerf ball. 

[sidebar:  When did we as a society become so freaking politically correct that we have to refer to every word by it's first letter?  They were calling it the "R-word" in the press.  I mean really?  Is that the most vulgar word there is?  If it's not said with hate and mallace, then it's not hateful and malicious.  Get over yourselves: end sidebar]

 I can honestly say that this is a very, very good movie.  In fact, I think that the reviews for the Movie Hot Rod (( “A funny and irreverent movie!” – Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times. “Very, very funny from start to finish!” – Rossiter Drake, The Examiner. “The funniest film I’ve seen in years!” -Carrie Keagan, NGTV.com. ) see http://blogadoodle.org/hot-rod-movie-review/ ) were actually meant for this movie.  It’s a movie full of actors, playing actors making a movie full of actors.  (Yes I said it, read it again if you need to in order to understand it.)

Ben Stiller was Ben Stiller in this movie.  A comedic actor that shows that beneath his persona he is actually intelligent.  Oscar worthy, no.  But still Ben Stiller at the top of his game.  I really can’t say anything bad about him in this one. 

Speaking of Oscar Worthy, let’s first talk about Robert Downey Jr.  He is unbelievable in this movie.  Robert is an actor born in New York, playing an actor who is Australian, who is playing an African American.  And he NAILS both characters.  You’re absolutely going to forget you’re watching Ironman himself.  I don’t know where the hell he came from, he went from being this washed-up, drug addict, to this incredibly serious and versatile actor.  Kudos to him, OK.  I’ve grown rather fond of his work as of late.

Another actor that completely blew me away, and is for sure in Oscar Nomination contention is Tom Cruise.  What a great character this is.  I loved this guy.  And you are not going to believe it’s Tom when you see him.  He did an amazing job and he made the movie for me.  I could watch a movie based solely on Les, his character in the film.  I’m not going to ruin it for you, you’re just going to have to watch it for yourself.

Jack Black is himself, but not the obnoxious Jack Black.  He brought his A-game to this one.  He’s Nacho Libre caliber with a better script (No he’s not playing a Mexican Monk that’s also a Wrestler.)  He’s very funny, but you won’t forget it’s Jack. 

The others did a great job as well, Matthew McConaughey, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson & Nick Nolte were good.  And there are some Big Name cameos in this thing as well.  Tyra Banks, Jon Voight, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lance Bass, just to name a few.

All in all, This movie is a notable comedy.  I laughed out loud, a lot.  There were some dry moments, but they were few and far between.  It was well written (way to go Ben Stiller) and it was Hollywood poking fun at Hollywood.  If this movie is not for you, then you already knew that from the previews.  I would recommended it to those that were considering seeing it as well as those that were trying to decided, but could go either way.  I will own it, even if I never see it again.

Thanks for the recommendation, “Man.”