Ben Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, a popular action star whose dwindling action career after a string of over the top action "Scorcher" movies and one serious drama as a "retarded" farmhand leads him to portray John "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Noltes alter ego) a supposed Vietnam War hero who whose book about his heroic efforts and the "alleged" loss of his hands. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Kirk Lazarus, a talented, Oscar-winning, Australian actor known for his highly controversial parts and his deep commitment to his roles, plays Sgt. Osiris, but in order to play this role he transforms himself with surgery and make-up to become black/African-American, and never breaks character! Jack Black plays Jeff "Fatty" Portnoy, a drug-addicted excess driven comedian/actor known for his movies "The Fatties". Brandon T. Jackson plays hip-hop entertainer turned actor Alpa Chino, who makes millions of his product endorsements.
Both Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stillers' characters are the epitome of this films pop-culture satire as Downy plays the actor who will do anything to win an Oscar and Stiller as the actor that becomes so type-casted as a character that he cannot escape it and ruins his life and career forever. With an all-star cast, this movie, despite its initial negative criticism, is not just some fun comedy, it has a profound underlying criticism of Hollywood and celebrities.
