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 riter/director Ben Stiller's Zoolander is a mixed
bag. It's funny as hell when it hits the right note, but drags seemingly forever
when Ben Stiller is onscreen for too long, furrowing his forehead at us. The
funniest scenes involve other people interacting with Zoolander, but director
Stiller sometimes mistakes having his Zoolander character mugging for the camera
with actual comedy -- it's not very funny and gets awfully annoying after a
while.
Counting among Zoolander's funnier scenes are those that comes
across more like variety show skits than actual scenes within the movie. Skits
like when Zoolander and his male supermodel rival, Hansel (Owen Wilson) gets
involved in a spontaneous "walk off" where the two models strut down
makeshift runways in a twisted version of Simon Says. The 10-minute sequence is
hilarious and is easily the funniest thing in the movie.
All that being said, it's a wonder any of the real-life
recognizable models that pops up in Zoolander agreed to do so,
since as portrayed by Stiller and his actors, the male model industry consists
of brain-dead idiots. Stiller's Zoolander is chief among the brain-dead models,
and Wilson's Hansel isn't far behind. In fact, the male models are so stupid
that in one funny scene, while putting gas in their car, a group of male models
burst out into spontaneous song and dance. The routine turns into a water fight,
but instead of water, these dum-dums spray each other with gasoline.
If that
wasn't enough, one of them lights a cigarette while soaking wet with gas, thus
killing all the models. How funny is that? Well, as a viewer, it's pretty funny,
but I'm not sure the male modeling industry has that wide berth when it comes to
a sense of humor. Luckily for the general audience, it's scenes like that, and
the aforementioned "walk off," that makes Zoolander worthwhile.
What's the movie's plot? Hmm, I could tell you, but then I
would be wasting my time. The plot is plain silly and is probably the movie's
real weak point. Why? Because it's ridiculous (as intended) and it only slows
down the movie. The actors involved in the plot, even the usually hilarious Will
Ferrell, all turns in dull performances. Christine Taylor, as Matilda, literally
suffocates the movie by trying to be serious in a dumb movie. Another notable
mention goes to Milla Jovovich as Ferrell's right hand, uh, woman, Katinka, who
mistakes scowling and gritting her teeth as comedy.
In fact, the movie is a
treat when it ignores the plot and gives us skits such as the walk off and the
gas pump dance routine. So my suggestion is to go into the movie and just pay
attention to the skits. Go grab something to eat or go to the bathroom when the
"plot" shows its ugly and unfunny face.
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