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This funny mess feels like a bunch of actor-centric comedy sketches strung together. Some of those sketches work much better than others. The weaker sketches often feel like stale leftovers from a 2001 episode of SNL. And like it happens on SNL from time to time, the guest hosts steal all the scenes from the regulars.

Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan, TRISTRAM SHANDY) is making the big-budget war picture “Tropic Thunder” in Vietnam. The troubled production stars action superstar and questionable actor Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, ZOOLANDER). The rest of the cast includes: the award-winning method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr., IRON MAN), who has undergone a controversial skin operation to play a black soldier; drug-addicted comedian Jeff Portnoy; rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson, ROLL BOUNCE); and skinny, smart newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel, KNOCKED UP). The production is a mess and the producers are not happy. So along with Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte, AFFLICTION), the veteran who wrote the novel the film is based on, and pyrotechnics expert Cody (Danny McBride, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS), Cockburn takes his actors into the jungle to film gorilla-style, until they stumble upon the hideout of drug dealers.

When things turn ugly, Speedman is the only one convinced they’re still just filming. He’s beyond clueless to the point of absurdity and way past the point of being funny. As is his typical style for his broad comedy work, Stiller, who also directs, mugs it up for the camera. Up against the subtler work from Downey and a mystery guest star who steals every scene he is in as an arrogant movie exec, Stiller looks cartoonish. He quickly becomes the least interesting thing in the film, which is a major problem when he’s the main character.

Downey Jr. is hilarious as the Russell Crowe-like actor who completely loses himself in his characters. The film starts off with fake trailers for the actors’ work and his “drama” as a gay priest is one of the funniest bits in the film. However, his deep, mumbled speaking pattern does get tiresome and repetitive toward the end. But I have to praise the big star who makes a big impression as a fat, balding, hairy movie mogul. He’s hilarious and a good sport. The studio has done a fairly good job keeping his appearance secret and it’s one of the only big surprises in the film.

Stiller has only written and directed one other film, ZOOLANDER. The satire and overall structure was far sounder in that poke at the modeling world. Stiller tries to keep this Hollywood satire broad enough that casual fans will get all the jokes, but some gags take too long to set up and lose steam on the way to the punchline. And sometimes he goes past funny into plain gross with the over-the-top gory moments. The trailers have sold this film very well and I’m sure it will be a hit, but the funniest bits (except for the guest star) are in the trailers and nothing about the plot is all that interesting. It’s definitely worth a rental, but not enough to slap down $10 for. Downey and the guest star almost make it worth it, but the forgettable nature of everything else won’t win any awards for sure.