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Zoolander (2001)

Director: Ben Stiller

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3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A fashion spoof draped over the bones of a puerile conspiracy adventure, this vanity comedy fails at every level barring its incidental details. Stiller directs, co-writes and stars, casting or flash-cameoing a host of real models and designers, personalities and family members. In the process he stretches himself as thin as the film's original idea, sparked by his 1996 onstage appearance as a dumb male supermodel for the VH1 Fashion Awards ceremony. We have to suffer much preening and prancing catwalk capers, the most absurd and least funny of which is the grudge match/private wager Zoolander (Stiller) conducts with the über-model who has taken his crown. Zoolander agrees to model for evil designer Mugatu's Derelicte collection, only to find himself being indoctrinated to assassinate the Malaysian premier for introducing new child-labour legislation. Funny, yes? The self-absorbed world of fashion proves notoriously hard to parody or satirise, and Stiller's insights are neither original nor artful.

Author: WH 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Ben Stiller

Producer: Scott Rudin, Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfield

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, Jon Voight, David Duchovny, Judah Friedlander, Nathan Lee Graham full cast

Duration: 89 mins

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