Zoolander 2 – Film Review

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller
Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penélope Cruz

A series of pop stars have been murdered in bizarre circumstances. Each has died with a look on their face, it is a signature look of one man; Derek Zoolander. Derek has been missing for many years after the disaster at his School for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Want to Do Other Stuff Good Too. The building collapsed on the opening day, killing his beautiful wife Matilda and scarring his best friend Hansel. Can the beautiful Interpol Agent Valentina (Cruz) locate Zoolander and get his help to solve the murders?

The original Zoolander is now 15 years old, and has rightly become a cult classic. There are some great lines and characters and it parodies a world richly deserving it. It spawned a series of films of varying quality, such as Dodge Ball, Anchorman and Starsky & Hutch.  The unusual thing was the considerable wait for this sequel, but despite being hugely loved, the original was not a box office success. It was a slow burn success, with many discovering it long after it had left the cinema.

Possibly because of the 15 years that had passed between this and the original, there was a considerable expectation about this film. It’s a weight that often cripples, as the Star Wars prequels can testify. The original team have been reunited with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson taking the lead roles and Will Ferrell playing the insane clothing designer Mugatu. The introduction of Cruz into the mix should only have helped matters. So where does it go wrong for this damp squib? The script is the obvious flaw. Whereas the original film’s over the top plot was carried by a series of great gags, this has little more than the daft plot. The jokes that are there just feel a little safe and predictable. The masses of fashion/ pop celebrities making guest appearances do not help the flow either. The introduction of Ferrell in the second half of the film does lift proceedings and at least we got to see Justin Beiber murdered, if nothing else. Strangely, even that was not as pleasurable as I expected!