Rank: 1/5
Fifteen years since Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) opened “The Center For Kids That Can’t Read Good,” “Zoolander 2” catches us up on what we’ve been missing.
Zoolander’s wife is killed after the school collapses, and he has lost his son due to being an unfit parent. Zoolander must return to the fashion world with Hansel (Owen Wilson) to prove he is responsible enough to keep his son.
It is rare for a comedy sequel to live up to the potential of its predecessor, especially when it follows the act of a cult classic like 2001’s “Zoolander.”
The first film did not makes waves when it opened and was considered a disappointment with the box office and critics. Not until a few years later would “Zoolander” became a cult classic, which still stands up to this day.
“Zoolander 2” falls short in getting anywhere near to the quality of its predecessor.
Watching the film feels like the equivalent of watching a great comedian realize he or she told a great joke and wanted to carry it out for as long as possible instead of moving on to new material.
It is clear the team behind “Zoolander 2” is not sure what to do or where to go with these characters and are throwing everything at the wall and hoping it sticks.
An example is Zoolander not being able to accept his son because he is fat, which leads to a discussion about whether or not fat people can be good people because of their eating habits. It is not only unfunny but somewhat painful to watch.
Whenever the film isn’t making jokes in bad taste, it is making jokes that are just plain bad. For example, Mugatu (Will Ferrell) kidnaps Zoolander by simply telling him to get into a straightjacket and Hansel holds onto the blades of a helicopter, only to have his hair scuffed.
The idea of the “Zoolander” world is very clever. It mocks the fashion world and entertainment industry, and it allows actors to appear as themselves and be made fun of, which tends to be really charming.
The problem is that Stiller knew “Zoolander 2” would be big news because of how highly-regarded his first film has become. Instead of doing something new or interesting with his character, Stiller and the writers decided to capitalize on the success of his first film, which smacks of cynicism toward its audience.
While Stiller is a great comedian and directed some interesting films in the past, he also has terrible films on his resume and this is at the bottom of the barrel.