The trials and tribulations of being really, really, ridiculously good looking will be familiar to GQ readers, so the return of male model Derek Zoolander to the big screen to provide guidance on what not to do can only be welcome. Ben Stiller’s best comedy character has been absent from the big screen for nearly 15 years, and reappears having learned nothing and grown not at all – as one would hope. The result is sometimes patchy, often chaotic, but still a thing of beauty.
That’s not to say that he hasn’t experienced some personal tragedy since we last saw the world’s top male model. We left Derek at the helm of the Derek Zoolander School For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Want To Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too, but sadly the building collapsed, killing his wife Matilda. Derek then lost custody of his son, Derek Jr., and retreated to the snowy wilds of "Northern New Jersey", where he now dresses in furs and lives in a cabin. That all changes when his friend, Billy Zane (Billy Zane), brings him a missive from Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig), the designer of the moment, inviting him to a show in Rome that could restore his reputation, fortunes and visitation rights.
Zane also visits Derek’s old enemy Hansel (Owen Wilson), who was disfigured in the same accident and who is caught in his own personal crisis as he contemplates fatherhood and agonises about his own missing dad (yes, his father’s identity will be revealed). The old rivals reluctantly join forces again for their comeback show, but all does not go to plan. Penelope Cruz’ Interpol agent is investigating the murder of a number of pop stars – including, in a crowd-pleasing turn, Justin Bieber – and her investigation leads her to believe that Zoolander might have a crucial clue. Of course, how would that beautiful idiot be able to identify a clue even if he saw it?
The film is overly reliant on cameos, of which it has an unprecedented number, but for the most part the celebrities gamely poke fun at their own images – particular kudos to Justin Bieber (can’t believe we just wrote that) and Keifer Sutherland in that respect – and don’t outstay their welcome. A fair percentage of the endless stream of jokes fall flat, and Stiller’s editing at times holds on a gag a second longer than he needs too. Worse, he underuses an extraordinary looking Kristen Wiig and her even more extraordinary accent (or, as she would probably call it, “accueoint”). But the central joke, of two glorified morons taking on a world blinded by their apparent good looks, still has mileage, and Stiller and Wilson remain a gloriously funny and charming pair. If this is Zoolander’s comeback, let’s hope he sticks around a bit longer.
