MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Protesters who picketed a Montpelier movie theater showing the new movie “Tropic Thunder” say the blockbuster comedy is mean-spirited in the way it portrays a character with cognitive disabilities.

Chanting and carrying signs, they protested outside the Capitol Theater on Wednesday night.

Deborah Lisi-Baker, executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, says Vermonters should boycott the movie because of its depiction of “Simple Jack,” a Ben Stiller character who’s called a retard, a moron and an imbecile by others.