Review: Zoolander

By FORCH F. FORTIER

Ben Stiller has made a career out of playing loveable idiots. But perhaps the greatest of those idiots was Derek Zoolander.

Zoolander, the title character of the 2001 comedy, is perhaps one of the dumbest protagonists in the history of film, and Stiller (Meet the Parents, Tropic Thunder) pulls it off with such panache, that you can’t help but chuckle.

The plot is basic. Derek Zoolander is the greatest male model in the world, but after being embarrassed at the VH1 fashion awards, being upstaged by up-and-coming superstar, Hansel, played by Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Starsky and Hutch).

Dejected, after this embarrassment, Derek gets a chance to cheer up with his Male-model roommates. However, while glancing at an unfavorable article about himself in Time Magazine, his Roommates are tragically killed in a “Freak gasoline fight accident”.

Zoolander then begins to question himself, and his place in the world. And after one day of soul searching, and working with his father and brothers, Zoolander’s agent, Maury Ballstein, played by Stiller’s Father, Jerry (Seinfeld, The King of Queens), gets a job with the one designer that has never hired him before, Jacobim Mugatu, played by Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Talladega Nights)

What Zoolander doesn’t know, is that he’s about to become a pawn in an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. As the plot is uncovered, it is shown that male models are behind all of the world’s political assassinations.

The film is filled with celebrity cameos, and jokes across the span of the film. Anyone who enjoys a good comedy will get a kick out of it, without really having to think all that much.

Stiller not only starred, but wrote and directed the film, and both of Stiller’s parents have parts, in addition to Christine Taylor, (Dodgeball, The Wedding Singer), his wife.

Although the film was profitable, its box office take was affected by the attacks of September 11, as it had opened about two weeks after the incident.

After nearly a decade after the release, it is still considered relevant, and popular amongst fans of comedy.

I do recommend the film to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.

I give Zoolander 8 out of 10.