Pros: sorta funny, silly cameos, '80s music
Cons: repetitive, not very funny
The Bottom Line: Relax don't do it When you want to go to it
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot. I had a cold the other day, so I wanted to watch a movie that was amusing enough to make me forget that I was sick, but not so hilarious that it would make me laugh (and, thus, cough). I found the perfect sick day film in Zoolander.
Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) reminds me of a character created by Saturday Night Live. Like all SNL skits, this one carried the joke too far, and I ended up getting tired of it well before the end of this feature, so I pray that there won't be a sequel.
Like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Zoolander makes the same joke over and over again. How many ways can they tell us that male models are stupid in one 90-minute film? Zoolander pronounces words wrong and shows a general ignorance about the world. However, his character is more endearing than the other male models in the film. Yes, Derek is stupid, but he is also earnest and wants to make a difference in the world by creating a school "for kids who can't read good."
"There must be more to life than being really really ridiculously good-looking," he muses.
Zoolander features a few funny lines, but I don't want to ruin what little value the movie has by reporting them here.
From Lance Bass to Natalie Portman, Zoolander is full of cameos, and the plot seems to be somewhat of an afterthought. Even the actual characters feel like cameos with Vince Vaughn as Derek's brother and Jon Voight as his father. None of the characters have depth, and Zoolander features one cliché after another including the ubiquitous son who wants to make his father proud.
One of the main caricatures (yes, I meant to write that) is the villain Jacobin Mugatu played by SNL veteran Will Ferrell. This greedy fashion designer wants to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia, using an easily manipulated male model as the assassin. In one of the few funny scenes, David Duchovny explains how many major assassinations in history have been carried out by male models.
Mugatu and his evil sidekick Katinka have brainwashed Derek to kill the Prime Minister during the "Derelicte" fashion show. The brainwashing scene was somewhat funny, but would have been better if I had drunk a whole bottle of NyQuil. Pretty reporter/love interest Matilda (Christine Taylor) has to try to figure out the "trigger" that will cause Derek to kill the Malaysian Premier. In case you haven't guessed, this plot lacks any suspense or real interest.
Mugatu has chosen Zoolander as his pawn because Zoolander appears to be past his prime and is, thus, disposable. After winning three Male Model of the Year awards, he loses the title to new sensation Hansel (Owen Wilson), a peyote-smoking neo-hippy. The two models participate in a "walk-off" modeling competition at an abandoned warehouse. With David Bowie as referee they play the modeling version of H-O-R-S-E to determine whose style is the finest. Although this was meant to be one of the crucial scenes in the movie, I found it to be boring and not very funny.
The one scene that I found relatively original and that almost made me laugh was when Derek and his model friends drive around town sipping fancy lattes and dancing to Wham's "Wake me up Before you Go-Go." Their fun is brought to an abrupt halt when one pin-up boy lights a cigarette during their gasoline fight.
Unlike most low-brow comedies, this one thankfully omits the toilet humor. Maury Ballstein (Jerry Stiller, Ben's real-life father), Derek's agent, almost heads down that road with his talk of hemorrhoids but stays in annoying territory without veering into gross-out land.
Keep an eye out for L'il Kim, Posh Spice, Winona Rider, and Donatella Versace (among others). It's a lot more entertaining to play find the celebrity than to pay attention to the actual film.
Recommended:
No
Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
