Zoolander
Directed by Ben Stiller
Review by Rada Djurica
Zoolander is a parody film full of celebrities and
directed by one, Ben Stiller. And everybody is included: Owen Wilson,
Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, Milla Jovovich, Christine Taylor, Jon Voigt
(Tomb Raider), Andy Dick, David Duchovny (Evolution), Fabio,
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (What Dreams May Come), Lenny Kravitz, Natalie
Portman (Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace), David Bowie,
Winona Ryder, Vince Vaughn, Billy Zane (Titanic).
Ben Stiller is a super model. Clearly it's a parody film; I doubt that any real life supermodel can be that stupid.
Stiller, as Derek Zoolander, spoofs the fashion world. Zoolander shows us the obvious: that models are vain, self-centered and thick as a brick. Freak designers, silly dresses, celebrity meets, all this comes with the territory. Nothing new there. This could just as easily be a documentary.
Ben Stiller is the one responsible for Zoolander. As producer, director, co-writer and star, he has no one to blame but himself.
Also, he includes his real life family: his wife, Christine Taylor, plays his sweetheart, a TIME magazine reporter. His father, Jerry, plays the owner of a male modeling agency. His mother and sister are models.
I wonder what was that all about?
Maybe the idea came from a glam celebrity party. Something like: wverybody is having a great time. We all have an enormous sum of money in the bank, and we can afford it. We even have David Bowie here. I'm surprised Iman did not get a part.
The humor is far too exaggerated, with too many inside jokes. There is no message at all, except for Ben's admiration or gratitude for being part of such a glamorous world. In this movie, everything is beautiful: models, high society, everything. And the ugly thing called serious directing has no room there, just models and their absurd way of living.
There is something of a plot. A committee of multimillionaires decide the new prime minister of Malasia must be eliminated, because he wants to employ sweat shop workers, which cuts the profits of dress designers and clothes manufacturers in the USA. The underlying premise is real enough to make you wonder if dress designers would ever really go that far.
Who could be commissioned to carry out an assassination at such short notice? A very stupid person: a model. Also, the killer must have access to celebrities and must take the bait.
The other story line relates to Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and his desire to be voted for Male Model Of The Year for the fourth year in a role. He strives to beat a rival (Owen Wilson) who's a surfboarding, mountain-climbing new boy possessing everything Zoolander lacks, especially with the sort of hippie magic that appeals to high society.
The movie is entertaining only if you accept the absurd idea that this sort of society can exist. Unfortunately, on several occasions, you wish you could fast forward. Ben Stiller is not a model type at all, is he?
Silly is the best word for the whole movie. Renting it would
be your best bet. This movie, like its main character, is not that smart,
but the laughs come from stupidity. Whoever is out there shelling out
money to produce such a movie would be better off giving it to charity.