title : Top Movies - Zoolander Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
Link : Top Movies - Zoolander Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
Top Movies - Zoolander Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
Stiller’s first Zoolander was a small scale, stupid but funny movie about the male model industry.
Genre: ComedyDirector: Ben Stiller
Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell,
Jerry Stiller, Milla Jovovich, David Duchovny and Jon Voight.
Jerry Stiller, Milla Jovovich, David Duchovny and Jon Voight.
Run Time: 89 min.
US Release: 28 September 2001
UK Release: 30 November 2001
German Release: 27 December 2001
Zoolander 2 was released this Thursday in Germany and as a little taster I decided to review the first Zoolander, written and directed by the fantastic comedian Ben Stiller. Contrary to most of my friends, I wasn’t a big fan of this comedy even though it did manage to make me laugh throughout most of its runtime. I am a fan of Stiller and like most of his work, especially the magnificent looking The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but Zoolander was extremely brainless and somewhat lazy written.
Zoolander was a comedy that polarised critics but was loved by most of the public. It received mixed reviews, with some praising Stiller and Wilson’s performances and others, such as Roger Ebert, thought that the film was insensitive in the portrayal of child labour. In general though this comedy received more positive critiques than negative.
When newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Hassan promises to eliminate child labour, fashion designer Jacobim Mugatu (Ferrell) is tasked to brainwash a model and make him execute the Hassan (Woodrow Asai). He finds his perfect victim in famous male model Zoolander (Stiller), who is extremely dumb and naive, and manages to turn him into a sleeper agent. Zoolander has friends though, amongst others investigative reporter Matilda Jeffries (Taylor) and former rival model Hansel (Wilson), who will try to protect Zoolander from the evil Mugatu.
The best part to this movie is probably the fact that it is a spoof of the fashion industry in the States and sees the absurd plot of dim-witted male model Derek Zoolander being brainwashed into assassinating the prime minister of Malaysia, who spoke against child labour. I thought the message about the abuse of child labour in the fashion industry to be a very important factor, as it is partially the base of existence for this film and could have made a positive statement against it. Sadly, that declaration is forgotten right after the start and gets buried underneath all the silliness.
Zoolander also makes fun of the late 90’s/early 00’s mobile industry, when the phones were designed to become smaller, as well as including great 80’s and 90’s pop-culture references. One of the best aspects of this comedy film, is that Stiller focused on the obscure side of male model business rather than the usual female models we have seen and heard about constantly in the media. The jokes in this comedy are not really mind blowing, but silly enough to make the viewers laugh throughout the movie and enjoy the most of it.
This film isn’t a perfect comedy though and does have issues! For one, the plot is not that interesting but rather weak, with the performances by Stiller and Wilson keeping it alive. I also thought that while I found the silly and childish jokes to be funny, it gets at times a little too stupid and unrealistic, even though it is supposed to be purposely dumb.
Apart from the great cast this motion picture benefits from a vast array of celebrity cameos, including Natalie Portman and Donald Trump as themselves, and features a great appearance by David Duchovny as a former hand-model and conspiracy theorist. All these cameos and side characters gave the film a small realistic touch.
Ben Stiller not only directed and co-wrote this movie, but he also starred in it. While I can’t say that this was his best directorial work, it was one of his best comedic performances. He managed to magnify the ignorance and vanity of models to a ridiculous size, depicting Derek Zoolander. He was simply brilliant as the dumb male model with one look, set up to kill a major political persona and managed to redefined slapstick humour. Stiller was fully committed to his role and without him or his co-star this comedy would have been a definite flop!
Owen Wilson acts as Stiller’s rival in this movie portraying the newcomer model Hansel, who is equally as stupid as Zoolander is. What sets off their rivalry is the fact that Hansel snatches Derek Zoolander’s fourth win as “Male Model of the Year”. The chemistry between Wilson and Stiller was fantastic; you could sense the mutual respect and friendship between the two!
Will Ferrell plays Mugatu, a villainous fashion mogul who wants to get rid of the new Malaysian Prime Minister, as this one opposes child labour. Ferrell plays him as quirky and over-the-top as he does his other characters, but there is something evil in this performance that sets him apart from other Ferrell personas. Christine Taylor was mostly cast as eye candy but also served a purpose in this film. She opposes the brainless models, as the highly intelligent investigative reporter who is trying to break a story on Mugatu’s evil fashion business.
Verdict: In general Zoolander is a highly funny and stupid comedy, with great 80’s and 90’s pop-cultural references and some serious messages concerning the fashion industry that it fails to transmit. At times it can get a little to silly and over-the-top, which hurts the humour but all in all it is an alright comedy with great performances by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and fantastic cameos by other stars and celebrities. I will give Zoolandera 7 out of 10 and recommend you see this one instead of the sequel.
Did you see Zoolander yet? If not, you should really pick it up and give it a try. Leave a comment to let me know what you thought of Zoolander and if you are planning to go see the sequel. I will have my review for Zoolander up online later this evening. Thank you very much for reading!
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