“Zoolander 2” a rehash with nothing new to say
Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson plays Hansel in "Zoolander 2."
He’s back and more Magnum than ever. Ben Stiller as Derek Zoolander in “Zoolander 2”
“It just doesn’t hold up, does it?”
When Will Ferrell speaks those words near the end of “Zoolander 2,” I found myself nodding in agreement.
In the 2001 original, clueless supermodel Derek Zoolander is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It was an offbeat and satirical take on all things fashion, and it was a surprise modest hit for still-green director Ben Stiller, just more than doubling its modest $28-million-dollar budget.
But that’s not earth shattering, and certainly not enough of a monetary reason for a sequel 15 years later, right? Not unless you had something more to say, instead of just saying what you said before over again.
But that’s pretty much what we’re treated to in “Zoolander 2,” basically a rehash including the characters, plot points and even lines basically lifted from the original. What aces it had up its sleeve were unwisely publicized in the trailer. Specifically, Kristen Wiig playing fashion mogul Alexanya Atoz, but for not nearly long enough. Most of what she does you’ve seen in the trailer.
The same goes for Benedict Cumberbatch who plays gender bending supermodel All. As questionable as this character is, it was a hoot to see Cumberbatch slumming to play herm; but again, if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen his bit.
I think the problems actually began long before the ill-advised trailer was cut. Justin Theroux, who co-wrote “Tropic Thunder” (2008) with Stiller, was set to write and direct “Zoolander 2”. But at some point, Stiller had taken over as director even though he hadn’t sat in the big chair since “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” in 2013.
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I think Stiller’s clunky hand shows in the pacing of “Zoolander 2” feeling overly long (although the editing may be as much to blame). It just isn’t very snappy, and it seems to drag. It also relies way too heavily on the abundant cameos, another holdover from the original. Some make sense, others just seem to take up space.
Probably its most egregious sin is that the humor and satire take a back seat to the mechanics of its sloppy and action-heavy plot. “Zoolander 2” is a send up of Bond-style spy films as much as it is of the fashion industry, but whole scenes of set up go by with nary a joke in them, while many of them induce eye-rolls rather than belly-laughs. By the time the messy and tiresome climax was reached, I’d had my fill, and was trying to remember what I’d liked about the original so much.
But I didn’t have to try that hard, since even footage from the original is used as icing on the cake, but also as recall for its duplicated plot points. It all seemed like an excuse to write off a trip to Rome for Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor, who also is confusingly barely in the film.
But wisely, Will Ferrell is back as fashionable fiend Mugatu (although he too is introduced too late and underused), and Owen Wilson reprises his role as fellow male-model Hansel. Also reprised are the jokes about his sexuality, super small phones, and Billy Zane as the Deepthroat of the fashion underworld. Zoolander’s own cluelessness wears thin quickly, and Stiller’s central character is the least funny part of his own movie.
• THE FILM: ”Zoolander 2″
• CRITIC RATING: Two stars
• STARRING: Kristen Wiig, Benedict Cumberbatch, Penélope Cruz, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Owen Wilson, Billy Zane
• MPAA RATING: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, a scene of exaggerated violence, and brief strong language.
113 minutes.
• BEHIND THE SCENES: Directed by Ben Stiller. Written by Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Stoller and John Hamburg.
• TRIVIA FROM IMDb: The announcement for the movie came from a fashion show where Stiller and Wilson walked down the runway, in character, as Zoolander and Hansel. The teaser trailer was narrated by Stephen Hawking.
Newcomer Penélope Cruz is a visual knockout as Valentina, an agent of the literal fashion police. She’s investigating the deaths of various pop models in an early plot line that is ultimately abandoned, as are most of the others that crop up in its place. But again, the trailer gave away most of the laughs in that early development as well.
One of the few surprises the trailer doesn’t spoil is overly obvious, although still a welcome development. The final act makes a desperate pitch to be funny again, and it almost succeeds. Ultimately, “Zoolander 2” just didn’t have much else to add to the original to say, and whatever it brought to the table that was fresh was spoiled by the trailer.
z2 – Hansel (Owen Wilson) and Zoolander (Ben Stiller) strike a pose as usual in “Zoolander 2″