I approached Ben Stiller's newest film, Zoolander, with confidence. Maybe too much confidence.
Its trailer and concept are the type that turn some movie fans giddy and turn others completely off. I was in the category of the former. A quirky, tongue-in-cheek comedy with Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell, along with cameos from just about everyone else in Hollywood, was exactly what I needed following this month's national chaos.
Zoolander looked like it had the potential for greatness. Early comparisons to movies like Rushmore and Austin Powers--off-beat comedies that only get better upon repeat viewings--made it even more appealing.
And to some extent, Zoolander met my expectations. Its plot is certainly zany enough: A male super model, Derek Zoolander (Stiller), is brainwashed by designer Mugatu (Ferrell) to murder the prime minister of Malaysia when he visits New York City for Fashion Week. The humor was exactly what I hoped it would be: clever, eccentric and at times, absolutely hilarious.
But Stiller, who also co-wrote and directed Zoolander, made two major mistakes in crafting this film. The first is that his own character is completely unappealing. As a moronic and self-absorbed model, Derek's antics are the butt of most of the film's jokes.
However, as an anchor for the film, the character fails miserably. We simply don't care about Derek, his dwindling career, the possibility of a relationship with him and Christine Taylor's fashion reporter Matilda or whether he is going to knock off the Malaysian prime minister. We simply don't care.
The other problem is the misdirected use of Owen Wilson's character, Hansel, who in the film's opening, captures VH1's male model of the year award over three-time champ Zoolander (who, despite losing, rushes up to the podium to accept his award anyway). As the new up-and-comer, Hansel is of course bitter competition for Derek. Therein lies the dilemma.
Wilson is best when he is teamed up with a group of his friends or family. His wry and off-the-wall sense of humor, combined with his crooked nose and wild blonde hair, serves as a perfect counterbalance to other characters who share with him in the same mission. Notable examples are Wilson's breakout performance in the brilliant Bottle Rocket and his supporting roles in films like Armageddon and Shanghai Noon.
In most of Zoolander, however, Hansel and Zoolander are pitted against each other. It's not until they start teaming up in the last 30 minutes of the movie that the real benefit of having Stiller and Wilson in the same film is realized.
Of course, fixing these two major issues would change much of the story. But the initial concept of poking fun at the male super model world is the point of this film--not the assassination plot of the prime minister of Malaysia (who has recently enacted child labor and minimum wage laws in his country, thereby ruining the fashion industry).
Beyond these points, Zoolander is still a very good and funny movie. I have purposefully not mentioned 99 percent of the major gags, cameos and hilarious surprises in the film, so that they are not spoiled for you.
In six months, when this movie hits cable and video stores, classic lines like "a center for ants?" "merman" and "That's Hansel, he's really hot right now" will be in your friends' away messages and permanently in your own movie-quote lexicon. But for every one of your favorite lines, the material deserved at least one or two more.
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