A group of self-absorbed actors sets out to make the most expensive war movie ever. At the helm is Tugg Speedman, an action hero trying to revitalize his waning career. Among the cast are Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addicted comedian known for his "fart" movies, and Kirk Lazarus, an intense method actor who undergoes "pigmentation alteration" surgery to play a black character. The production goes awry from the start, with costly explosions and a rookie director unable to control his prima donna cast. Frustrated by the chaos, the film's author, who is a Vietnam War veteran, suggests dropping the actors into the middle of the jungle to instill real fear and provoke genuine performances.

Following the veteran’s advice, the director flies the actors into the wilderness of Southeast Asia, planning to film them with hidden cameras and throw them into survival scenarios scripted on-the-fly. However, shortly after their drop, the actors find themselves in real danger when they inadvertently wander into the territory of an armed drug-production gang. Surrounded by actual gunfire instead of special effects, these performers must now channel their fictional military personas for real survival, leading to an unwitting and chaotic blending of fiction and reality.