I saw this movie even though the ads didn't look that promising. But I remembered that I missed the boat on Something About Mary, which I thought had poor ads as well. So I though Zoolander may have something to offer, since Mary was one of the best comedies of all time (IMHO). Unfortunately, it sucked as bad as the ads suggested. And it is a real disappointment since so much talent was wasted. It appears to be an excellent sketch comedy bit, gone horribly, horribly wrong. It did have its moments, the opening scenes and the brainwashing montague were inspired and stylish, but the following scenes fell flat, and the audience could never get enough momentum to turn the occasional giggles to real laughter. The coal mining scenes were a waste (Why have Vince Vaughn just sit there, couldn't Stiller think of a single line for him) All the cameos were distracting, and none were very funny. The spy scenes were silly, and were meant to be. But Austin Powers proved that silly spy spoofs could still pack the laughs, despite the fact they are predictable. The modeling scenes were parodies of a genre that has already been parodied enough. (See Scary Movie spoofing a spoof) We all know Male models are vacant. Telling us again doesn't make it any funier. The plot against the Malaysian Prime Minister was very distastful (current events notwithstanding) The Prime Minister is a very real person, a muslim and an ally of the US. Why have a real person be the center of a death threat when it would be certainly very easy to make up a country like Bandonesilay or something. The whole movie seemed to be based around the one real joke of Zoolander's new expression (Magnum) which is so perfect it can stop steel. Funny for a five minute sketch, tiresome in a 100 minute movie. The film seemed unorganized and rushed. Jokes are overexplained and strange pauses in action left the audience giggling in confusion, rather than in humor. Cable Guy, Mystery Men and Zoolander is strike three. Stiller, keep your writing and directing talents for MTV, and leave the big screen to the Farrely Brothers.
Review of Zoolander
