25 Best Movies Of The Decades: 21

"Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'. Not retarded. You know, Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded. Peter Sellers, 'Being There.' Infantile, yes. Retarded, no. You went full retard, man. Never go full retard."

21. Tropic Thunder(2008)

Sometimes Ben Stiller can really be insanely funny(The Ben Stiller Show, for example). Since his minor role in Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun," Stiller has been writing this comedy. And it was only released two years ago.

The film is about the making of "Tropic Thunder," based on a book about the horrors of the Vietnam War and how its prima donna actors are dropped into the jungle, forcing them to play the roles without a comfy film set. Of course soon after the director gets killed and the actors(convinced it was a set up) try to continue acting until one of their own is captured by a Vietnamese drug gang.

While the plot and writing is pretty good, it's the characters that are actually the focus of the film, as each deals with their own deep-seated insecurites. Stiller's Tugg Speedman is a past-his-prime action star who's about to release the sixth film in his "Scorcher" franchise, looking to save his career and find a way to be taken seriously after his first dramatic role, "Simple Jack" about a magical and mentally disabled farmhand, fails miserably. Jack Black's Jeff Portnoy is an overweight and drug addicted comedy star, also looking to be taken seriously who feels people only love his films, like the flatulent sequel "The Fatties: Fart 2," for the crude jokes.

Lastly, there's Kirk Lazarus, who I've written extensively about previously. Robert Downey Jr's character is a multiple Academy Award-winning Australian method actor who gets so deep into his character's that he doesn't drop them until after DVD commentary. In this case, he performs African-American Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, a role for which he underwent a controversial "pigmentation alteration" surgery and speaks through most of the film in a stereotypical 70s black voice. While it seems at first that Lazarus is only in character, by the end of the film it's revealed that for all his knowledge of the roles he plays, he has no idea who he is.

The whole film is an excellent middle finger to the entirety of the film business, from the agents to the executives to award ceremonies.