Looking at the trailer, “Zoolander” appears to be one of those lackluster fall comedies that does not have much to it. Sometimes trailers can be so wrong.
“Zoolander” has an all-star cast, hilarious jokes, and is the much needed break from reality that many of use could use right now.
Ben Stiller stars as Derek Zoolander, a male model who has been at the top of the fashion world for years. The end of Zoolander’s career is in sight as Hansel (played by Owen Wilson) starts to ignite his red-hot career.
Through a series of twists and turns, Derek is chosen to kill the newly elected Prime Minister of Malaysia. The prime minister is trying to stop the child labor that keeps the fashion industry afloat.
One drawback to the movie is that Derek could have benefited from a little extra character development. Derek is nothing more than an empty hull who is manipulated by those in the fashion industry. However, Stiller does a solid job of playing stupid.
While Stiller’s character could have used some more work, the supporting cast works well in the movie. Jerry Stiller does what he does best – he is a first class scene stealer. As model agent Maury Ballstein, Stiller hits the mark over and over, whether he is moaning over a swollen prostate to grieving the possible demise of his top client’s career.
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Will Ferrell is brilliantly disturbing as the evil fashion designer, Jacobim Mugatu. One scene, where Derek is being “programmed” to kill the prime minister, is where Ferrell is at his best. Someone needs to give him his own vehicle soon.
Owen Wilson plays the upstart model Hansel. Hansel is a new age, nature loving, laid back type of guy. Wilson plays the role perfectly. Christine Taylor’s character, journalist Matilda Jeffries, could have used a little more personality as well. She comes across as being rather dull compared to the rest of the cast.
The cameos in the film are mindboggling. We have David Bowie judging a “walk-off” between Derek and Hansel. Andy Dick is not even recognizable as a masseuse. Other celebrity cameos include Lenny Kravitz, Cuba Gooding Jr., Winona Ryder and David Duchovny as a former hand model.
The situations in the film are so unreal, they are funny. Derek’s friends die in a freak gasoline fight and there is that much discussed orgy scene. Don’t get too hot and bothered over this one. There is more humor to be found here than porn style lovemaking. The situations get more and more outrageous as the film goes on, adding to the humor. However, the ending was a bit of a let down. Stiller also seems to break from his Derek character, going so far as sounding almost like Ben Stiller.
Since this is a movie about models, be warned, there is a great deal of product placement to be found. This is also VH1’s first venture into feature films, and that fact is made crystal clear during the opening sequences. The cameos are also nice, but after a while it feels like famous faces are being placed in the movie just for the sake of added starpower.
As far as time goes, the movie goes by amazingly fast. Every scene has laugh value, especially the orgy scene. Overall Zoolander is one of the best comedies this year. As Derek himself might say, it is really really good looking. Grade: B
