69. Zoolander (2001)

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor

Director: Ben Stiller

Running Time: 89 mins

Zoolander is an American film about Derek Zoolander, a world-famous male model who is unknowingly recruited by an evil fashion designer with ambitions of killing the Malaysian Prime Minister, however Zoolander attempts to escape the fashion world to find something more to life than being really, really, really good-looking.

This film is a hell of a lot of fun. It’s full of laughs from start to finish, and some of the wackiest characters of all time. It’s got some great performances, and it also works quite well as a satire on the fashion industry, however my only problem with it was that the story just wasn’t watertight or entertaining enough to make this a properly hilarious film.

I’ll start with the story, which involves not only an evil fashion designer, Mugatu, trying to brainwash Derek Zoolander to kill the Malaysian Prime Minister, but also Derek’s blossoming romance with an investigative journalist and search for a more meaningful life. Now, in comparison to something like Anchorman, a very similar comedy, this story is nowhere near as down-to-earth.

The reason that the proper Anchorman is funnier and better than Wake Up, Ron Burgundy is because the story is both intelligent and simple enough to fit with the type of comedy, and that’s why this film is not as entertaining, because the story isn’t fleshed out enough, and it’s not down-to-earth enough to really be convincing.

Apart from that, though, this film is pretty strong. I wasn’t too much of a fan of Owen Wilson and Christine Taylor’s performances here, but there’s absolutely no faulting Will Ferrell, who uses his brilliantly excessive acting to create the insanely eccentric character that is Mugatu, and Ben Stiller, who, in what is probably his best performance ever, is so over-the-top and idiotic, but so good and so funny that his character never gets annoying.

In terms of the comedy, it’s fantastic. There are few scenes here and there that drag out a bit too long, or have jokes that are too subtle to actually make you laugh properly, however there are some of the most farcical scenes in here too, that will leave you crying with laughter for minutes on end, as well as some beautifully quotable lines that will last a long time.

Overall, this gets a 7.6, because despite its poor story, it’s still a hugely funny, really well-acted and very entertaining film.