Article: FUNNY WHAT A LITTLE CONTEXT CAN DO IN 'TROPIC THUNDER' FLAP.(Capital Region)

Trying to explain a joke is almost exactly as much fun as diagraming sex: It has a tendency to drain all the fun from the subject, and is therefore best left to grad students.

So it is with much throat-clearing and eye-rolling that I rise in defense of "Tropic Thunder," the Ben Stiller comedy that has grievously offended many advocates for the disabled - but still managed to dethrone "The Dark Knight" at the top of the box office last weekend.The rap against "Tropic Thunder," which spoofs Hollywood egomania and pretension during the making of a Vietnam combat drama, is a film-within-the-film called "Simple Jack," in which Stiller's character, the fading ...

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