Zoolander is a movie about male models who can’t model. That’s the joke, and it mostly works. Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander, a runway star whose career is stalled until he gets cast in a shampoo commercial. Owen Wilson plays Hansel, his rival and best friend, and Will Ferrell plays a villainous fashion designer who wants to kill the president.
The premise is simple: Derek and Hansel are invited to the White House to stop a plot, but they are so dim they keep missing the point. The movie wants to be a satire of the fashion industry, but it spends more time mocking its own characters than anything else.
Trailer, via Paramount Movies.
Derek Zoolander
Stiller plays Derek as a man who can walk a runway but can’t think past it. His catchphrase, “Blue steel,” is a look he uses to sell products, and the movie leans on it heavily. It’s funny at first, but repeated so often that it loses its edge by the end.
Hansel is the straight man, though he isn’t really straight. He’s just as shallow, but in a lovable way. Their friendship is the heart of the film, and it’s the reason anyone watches past the first ten minutes.
Fashion Industry Jokes
The movie takes aim at the fashion world, and some of the jokes land. The models are absurd, the shows are over the top, and the designer’s schemes are cartoonishly evil. But the satire never goes deep. It stays surface-level, which means the jokes about runway culture feel more like sight gags than commentary.
The movie also makes fun of Derek’s inability to understand normal life. He doesn’t know what a sandwich is, and he doesn’t get why people laugh at his blue steel face. These moments are the best parts of the film, because they let Stiller play both sides of the joke at once.
Ferrell’s Villain
Ferrell plays the villain, and he commits fully to the role. His performance is broad and silly, and it works because the movie treats him seriously even as it makes him ridiculous. He’s the one who wants to kill the president, and he’s the one who explains the plot in the most convoluted way possible.
“I want to kill the president.”
That line sums up the movie’s approach to storytelling. It’s a serious threat delivered in a way that makes it impossible to take seriously.
Running Time
At 92 minutes, the movie is short enough that its flaws don’t have time to settle in. But it’s also short enough that it could have used a few more jokes. Some scenes drag, and the middle section, where Derek and Hansel try to stop the plot, feels padded.
The film’s weakest stretch comes when it tries to explain the villain’s plan. It involves cloning and genetic engineering, and it’s explained in such vague terms that the whole scheme collapses under its own weight. The movie seems to forget its own logic halfway through.
Final Verdict
Zoolander is a comedy that knows its own limits. It’s silly, self-aware, and often very funny. But it’s also thin, and it relies too heavily on repeating its best jokes. The satire is weak, and the plot is barely coherent.
It’s a movie about men who are beautiful but stupid, and it plays that idea to the point of exhaustion. There’s a lot of charm in the performances, especially from Stiller and Wilson, but there’s also a sense that the movie doesn’t know what it wants to say.
If you’re looking for a satire of the fashion industry, you’ll find it here. If you’re looking for a clever script, you won’t. If you’re looking for laughs, you’ll get them, but they’ll be the kind that make you shake your head more than they make you laugh out loud.
Zoolander is a good time, but it’s a limited one. It’s best enjoyed as a guilty pleasure, not a masterpiece.
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