Review #129: 'Zoolander' (2001)

Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is a slow-witted fashion model who is known for his 'Blue Steel' look, and has dominated the industry for years. When the new kid on the block, Hansel (Owen Wilson), starts taking the attention away from Zoolander, and journalist Matilda (Stiller's wife Christine Taylor) writes a mocking piece on him, Zoolander considers retirement. He travels back home to work in the coal pits with his father (Jon Voight) and brothers (Vince Vaughn and Judah Friedlander) but they reject him due to his fashion antics and general uselessness in the pits. Meanwhile, fashion giant Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) is coming up with a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and feels that Zoolander is just stupid enough to be the hit-man.

I've never really been a fan of the work of Stiller and his usual troupe. While his films are generally entertaining, I just don't find them that funny. Zoolander, though not exactly a classic, is possibly his best, being frequently funny, silly, and most important of all, fun. For all it's prat-falls and ridiculous costumes, it is actually a pretty damn accurate send-up of the fashion industry. Many a time I've been forced to sit through the likes of America's Next Top Model and whatever new shit Gok Wan has come up with (I detest that man with every fabric of my being), and it is really this ridiculous.

The cleverist moment of the film is when Mugatu announces his new fashion show, called Derelicte, spinning fashion out of the bums and hobo's that roam the streets. It's just the type of pretentious and shallow thing that happens in fashion all the time, taking its influences from the unfortunate and putting it's own naive and clueless fingers all over it. Anyway, that's enough about my hatred for the fashion industry, now for the actual film.

Zoolander has the thing that seems to missing from Stiller's usual films, which is sweetness. As gay as that sounds, it helps elevate the likes of Judd Apatow's films above others, and helps you actually care about the film rather than it being played just for laughs. Tropic Thunder (2008) and Dogeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) certainly tried, and ultimately failed. Although Zoolander is a shallow idiot, he is certainly loveable. And as Hansel, the always-watchable Owen Wilson is just a dim-witted. When the two settle their rivalry and team up, there is plenty of chemistry. Watching them both giggle like children when talking about bulimia is a scene where if handled badly, could have been uncomfortable, but the scene is possibly the funniest in the film.

Yes, it follows the same path as many other a comedy, and some of the jokes fail to hit the mark. But it's fun, entertaining, and features a handful of solid comedy performances. And, as ever, Will Ferrell steals the show as a manically over-the-top designer.


Directed by: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, Jon Voight, David Duchovny
Country: USA/Australia/Germany

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie