In my opinion, Zoolander is one of the funniest movies to come out of the 2000’s. Yet, instead of capturing the heart and charm of the original, this absolutely unnecessary sequel just comes off as a giant mess that should have never made it off the writer’s table.
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The sequel picks up 15 years after the events of the first “Zoolander”, which introduced dimwitted fashion model Derek Zoolander (Stiller), his sidekick Hansel (Owen Wilson) and fashion mogul Mugatu (Will Ferrell) amid a scheme to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia with a “Manchurian Candidate”-style brainwashing using the song ’80s hit “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood”.
Falling well below the standards of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” in the long-delayed-sequel sweepstakes, this flailing follow-up drags the endearingly dim-witted Derek Zoolander out of retirement for an extended Roman holiday, backed by a parade of real-life celebrities and fashion-world denizens who are now very much in on the joke.
Well, let’s start with the few positives this train-wreck has to offer. There is also a spectacular fashion moment featuring a not quite centaur styled Zoolander opposite the ever-gorgeous Naomi Campbell. As such, they remain largely static and one dimensional in a vehicle that only works if they have the ability to be all in as complex, albeit amusing players. In fact, there are a few good laughs to be had in this piece.
Benedict Cumberbatch (left) portrays All and Kyle Mooney portrays Don Atari in “Zoolander 2”.
What it also avoids, though, is the sort of inspired but highly controlled lunacy the first film traded in.
So the anticipation was understandably high for “Zoolander 2”, Stiller’s sixth directorial effort after his underrated debut “Reality Bites” (1994), the criminally misunderstood Chris Farley-Jim Carrey swap “The Cable Guy” (1996), the refreshingly original “Zoolander” (2001), the surprisingly hilarious “Tropic Thunder” (2008) and the lackluster remake “The Secret Life of Walty Mitty” (2013). In a snappy, tongue-in-cheek opening sequence, which turns out to be a false dawn, gun-toting assassins on motorcycles chase Justin Bieber through the labyrinthine streets of Rome. But Stiller is still working off the premise of one joke, and while it may keep one movie afloat and in the hearts and minds of stoned college students everywhere, that one joke can’t keep two moving, no matter how much time has passed and how many cameos it has stuffed within its running time. Sure, the original’s romance between Stiller and Christine Taylor was fairly forced as well, but at least it wasn’t insultingly shoved in for absolutely no reason.
And that’s the whole problem with Zoolander 2’s outdated comedy. His villain story arc, again, feels like just another giant callback labored into the narrative, and he provides no laughing material whatsoever for the audience to enjoy. Does that sound amusing to you?
– Richard Roeper is a film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times.
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The first “Zoolander” worked not by mocking the absurdity of the fashion scene, but by positioning Stiller and Wilson as absurd, improbably successful figures within that scene. Also, the existence of Derek Jr.is treated as a fat joke for the entire movie. “He does it great, like he gets a furrowed brow and he holds it and I would say that’s one of the most fun things about being married to him because people will just yell at him on the street, “Blue Steel”, and he does it in a heartbeat, which I love”.
