Is Ben Stiller Over?

Here's the trouble with being as relatable, likable and downright Everyman-only-funnier as Ben Stiller. We've seen him in so many movies we feel like we know him. So, we don't feel a strong compulsion to see every movie he makes, à la The Heartbreak Kid, which bombed big time, raking in a paltry $14 million (only a year after his Night at the Museum opened to $42 million).

Naturally, bloggers and movie guru types are seizing the chance to associate Ben's good name with words like over and disaster.

But it's silly, because we all know our buddy Ben will be back. The real question is, which of his next three projects will be the one that gets labeled the "comeback"? Let's see...

Shot No. 1: The Marc Pease Experiment

Synopsis: Eight years after high school, former musical star Marc Pease remains stuck in the past. Clearly, he has to change.

Comeback Potential: Let's all cross our fingers that the film lives up to its premise. Good news is that Ben isn't playing the rocker. That role belongs to Jason Schwartzman. Better news is I hear Pease is actually—yee-ha!—an understated, smart, heartfelt script that could truly help audiences forget that Ben costarred with a donkey this last weekend.

Shot No. 2: Tropic Thunder

Synopsis: There's more to this raucous comedy than the fact that Owen Wilson had to drop out because of tragic circumstances. Here, actors playing soldiers have to buck up and make like real soldiers.

Comeback Potential: HUGE. Stiller is directing, and we know he's damn good at that. If he can manage to entice Jack Black to refrain from overkilling every scene, this movie could be a big-time frat-pack hit. And even if Black does try and dominate, he'll have to steal scenes from Robert Downey Jr., which is no easy thing. Thunder will either be huge good or huge bad...there is no in between.

Shot No. 3: Madagascar: The Great Escape

Synopsis: Alex the Lion and Co. find themselves too city-slickin' for the wild.

Comeback Potential: Kids cry and get cranky. It's a fact. And that's why The Rock's Game Plan is the number one movie in America for the second weekend in a row. That's why we all have to hope like hell that Pease or Thunder hits. Because when Madagascar rakes in tons of dough, nobody will attribute the success to Benny boy. Even though acting into a microphone is damn hard to do.

Via eonline