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Funny Film and very creative

Funny i laughed and laughed, but i gave it a somewhat harsh score for its cheesy ability to make me laugh and some scenes that make you realize its a lame movie, i loved it, but it was lame, cheesy... Some people won't undersatnd that until they see it... its absolutely hilarious and my friends and i quote it all the time and jove it like the classic "You can read minds?" Well, thats a cruel but funny scene... I suggest see it and possibly buy it like i did but be prepared to have mixed feelings...

***/*****
3 out of 5

I laughed til I cried- shoulda brought tissues!

Zoolander is the funniest movie I have seen hit theatres since Something About Mary. With its jokes about morons, ridiculous outfits, and hilarious scenarios, if it's comedy you're after, you HAVE to see this movie.Derek Zoolander was well-written, acted, and directed as there is not a single dull moment in the film. Will Ferrell is brilliant (as always) as Mugatu, a freakish designer famous for inventing a staple of American fashion.Ben Stiller makes this movie happen with a solid screenplay, and excellent supporting characters.It's a fresh concept, complete with lots of physical comedy and hilarious one-liners.And you'll NEVER look at mermaids (mermen!?) the same way again!

One of the few films I wish I had never seen

I'm actually embarrassed to have seen this movie. About the only "positive"thing about the movie was the fact that they intertwined inside jokes for movie buffs such as the 2001 reference and such. Also the appearance of DavidBowie was cool, but this is by far the dumbest movie I have ever seen. It was full of offensive humor. The story line was dumb. The fact that his friends get killed in a gasoline explosion--and the whole fashion thing. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. At least Legally Blonde went somewhere with the fashion thing. Don'twaste your time.

This is a flick for the home library

When I saw the previews for this movie I was skeptical.
The highlights looked funny but made me wonder if the highlights were the only funny parts. Well, the movie is hilarious. Stiller is great. To me, it ranks right up there with Austin Powers and I hope there is another one. Buy it. Watch it over and over again and you'll laugh every time. Will Ferrell is perfect, Owen Wilson is great and the two leading women {Chris Taylor and Milla Jovovich) are incrediby good looking....

I started a joke, that started the whole world (almost) laughing...

A full-length movie based on a character for a five minute spoof film Ben Stiller created for a fashion awards show several years ago. Does that sound like something you want to watch all the way through? Didn't think so. There are some occasional laughs (or were they smirks?) with the "cameo recognitions", like Farrell's character, Vince Vaughn still stuck in the hometown mines, or Duchovny spoofing his old series as a "spooked, washed up hand model", but the humor just doesn't hold up over an hour and 40 minutes.
Hell, it doesn't even hold up for 15 minutes.Recommended only for Ben Stiller fanatics and/or Victoria's Secret models looking to unwind after a tough day of walking around with 45 pound angel wings strapped to your back.

Disappointing.

I liked 'Zoolander.' Knowing what the industry is like, I enjoyed the different perspectives that Stiller enjoyed tearing into. It is pretty accurate and dead-on, but it never goes too far. Unfortunately, from an outside perspective, the movie is too stupid for its own good. You will feel your IQ dropping and you will not like it. Stiller played more for honesty and accuracy about modeling and believe me, that's too much of a stretch.Derek Zoolander is finished in the male model world. When he gets a new contract from an evil agent, he's unknowingly brainwashed into finding and assassinating the prime minister of Malaysia.The movie sucks really. Between the orgy scenes, the movie references of some classics, walk-offs(!), none of it makes sense. It's all a joke. If you can deposit your mind in a safe deposit box for a couple years, forget all the vestiges of your sanity and you finally watch this, there probably still will be enough spark there to ask yourself, "What the heck am I watching?" Despite my personal liking, Zoolander is still very much garbage.

Foolander

The typically reliable Stiller (star of many hilarious films such as "Meet the Parents" and "There's Something About Mary") stumbles with this trip down the fashion runway, providing a zany, outré comedy that's only funny in fits and starts. He plays the title character, a male super-model (initially presented by Stiller in a few sketches during the VH1 Fashion Awards) whose self-involvement, immense shallowness and inherent idiocy become even more apparent than usual when he loses the top award in his field to rival Wilson. While he bickers with and tries to one-up Wilson, he is concurrently being targeted for use in an assassination plot masterminded by outlandish (and outlandishly affected) fashion guru Ferrell. Ferrell wants to brainwash Stiller into killing the Prime Minister of Malaysia due to his enforcement of child labor laws in his country. Also on hand is Stiller's real-life wife Taylor as a Time magazine reporter, sent to produce a feature article on the male mannequin. What was amusing enough in spurts during the Fashion Awards has great difficulty entertaining once stretched to (an albeit brief) feature length. Stiller adopts an even ore bizarre and off-putting way of speaking than he did in the original skits and it wears thin quickly. The admittedly eye-popping costumes and production design can only go so far in putting over a very lame and very routine story. Stiller is a whirlwind of creativity and had his hand in practically every aspect of this film but it just isn't very funny. Wilson (a very unlikely print model indeed!) tries hard as well to inject some flavor into the proceedings, but is mostly undone by the subject matter. Taylor is attractive, but displays a startling lack of screen charisma and does not boil over with chemistry in her scenes with Stiller either. Jovovich chews the scenery relentlessly and Ferrell is way, WAY out there. There are many star cameos, a lot of them pointless, but a few supporting performers stand out. Duchovney is amusing as an ex-hand model who's fallen on hard times and Voight is quite solid as Stiller's estranged father. There are a few set pieces that are very funny, including one that takes off on all those quasi-erotic car wash/garden hose fantasies and an interesting night of debauchery at Wilson's pad, but the bulk of the gags either fall flat or are labored. Everything looks like it's in place for this to be a laugh riot, but unfortunately it tends to be a trial and a test of the viewer's patience.

worst film i've ever seen, and i've watched Pearl Harbor

I've seen some bad films: Pearl Harbor, Snow Dogs, Password Swordfish, Blues Brothers 2000, and even Me, Myself and Irene. I rented Zoolander to watch with my parents. After about 20 minutes (we got to the end of the gasoline scene), we turned it off. If i had a lobotomy first, i think it may have been more enjoyable. I actually would prefer to watch Bicentenniel Man. I think high school pre-frat boys and soccer moms are big into this.
-VoodooArtist

I don't care if they're married in real life: Stiller & Taylor have ZERO chemistry

One of the worst movies ever. The acting is actually worse than the substandard writing. Christine Taylor, who rolls her eyes and sneers throughout, amazingly has the power to ruin every single scene she's in. Will Ferrel's disturbingly homely face and corseted physique come in a close second. The real problem is that Stiller is about as far from model prettiness as you can get. There's only so much the willing suspension of disbelief can go: He's not a good-looking man, and his one exaggerated facial expression (pouting lips, wrinkled brow) has worn out any comic value is had five minutes into the movie. The rest of the film limps along to its ridiculous conclusion, in which Zoolander's "new look" saves the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Owen Wilson and Milla Jovovich are the movie's only saving graces. A slow-motion orgy late in the film seems misplaced and a valid embarrassment for everyone except Stiller and Tyler.

mystery men was even funnier

i didn't really expect much from this one to begin with but it was worse than i expected.the whole plot was stupid(an incompatant model brainwashed to kill a world leader)i expected it to be a little weird but they to the whole model thing to far.i guess that was there idea from the begining,but it didnt work it was just to over the top.

however their were some funny parts in the movie they were to few and far between.if you seen mystery men and kinda liked it you make find this a little entertaining,but if you didn't like mystery men then you will probbaly hate this one.

I really like Ben Stiller and i think he's got alot of talent but he needs to slowdown with the weird themes for his movies.he movies.rent it (maybe)

"Dumb & Dumber" Meets "Pret-A-Porter" In A One-Joke Movie

Ben Stiller can be very funny, and has a natural flair for comedy, both in terms of acting and directing, but this attempt at spoofing the fashion industry doesn't achieve the level of irony and humour it could have. The main weakness? The script could have been richer and, well, much funnier. In 'Derek Zoolander', Stiller creates a loveably dumb character, a top male model who is all beauty and no brains. But it works out as little more than a one-joke movie, and even that one joke (that models are dumb) is stretched too thin to be really funny. Mike Myers did the whole male vanity-cum-dumbness routine much more richly with Austin Powers. Having said all that, however, the movie is almost worth watching for the plot device in the climax alone. OK, so it's Stiller, and thus watchable, but with all that talent there (I mean, even Stiller's dad is played by Jon Voight), it could have been much better. Owen Wilson is good, though, as the blonde supermodel Hansel, and the movie is an amiable way to pass an evening. But it isn't Stiller's best work.

Not bad but I wouldn't pay for it

A parody is almost always nice to watch when done right. There is no doubt that 'Zoolander' is done right. It walks the walk and talks the talk of the models. The moments that it does so are the true value of this movie. The engine, the plot, of the movie isn't really powerful enough to drive the movie on for as long as it does though - on the other hand, you do not watch 'Zoolander' as an investigative action thriller, right?!Entertainment Value: 3/5 (not bad, you'll have some fun)Message: erm... no, you won't go home changed with this one"Must See" factor: not reallyValue for Money: $5 max. A 14.99 DVD will be too expensive for this one

Lots of style, but lacks substance. ** (out of four).

ZOOLANDER / (2001) ** (out of four)The first thing I do after watching a movie is evaluate any personal changes it made with me. A film can completely change my outlook on parts of life. Zoolander did indeed make a lasting impression.on my view of male super models. I can honestly say I'll never look at another Calvin Klien billboard the same way again, but that isn't exactly a towering accomplishment.Zoolander is not supposed to make a lasting impression; it's flimsy, 90-minute escapism. Though I didn't laugh very much in this nonsensical comedy either, although it does contain some funny material involving the title character's stupidity, and it benefits from keeping its tongue firmly in cheek.Following the success of his blockbuster comedies "Meet the Parents" and "There's Something About Mary," Ben Stiller gathered family and friends to make Zoolander, an original, stylish satire on the fashion industry. Based on a 1996 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards character Stiller co-created with MTV Movie Awards writer/producer Drake Sather, Zoolander is quite pleased with its unique sense of humor, but unique does not necessarily spell funny.Stiller plays Derek Zoolander, who has defended his title of Male Model of the Year for three consecutive years now, but this year his competition gets the best of him. A dashing, red-hot newcomer, Hansel (Owen Wilson) nabs the award, sending Zoolander home with nothing but a low self-image. Shocked by these and other tragic events, Derek wonders if there's more to life than being "really, really good looking." He returns to his Southern roots only for his coal miner father (Jon Voight) to disown him. Enter a diabolical plot to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia, and you have yourself the visually amusing concept of Zoolander.Ben Stiller has the stuff here, as does Owen Wilson, Jon Voight, SNL veteran Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, and Milla Jovovich. I especially enjoyed the charismatic performance by Ben Stiller's real life wife, Christine Taylor as an aggressive Time Magazine Reporter. Andy Dick, Fabio, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Trump, Natalie Portman, Winona Ryder, Billy Zane, and Garry Shandling and other big stars appear for satiric cameos. There's a lot of talent involved with this film, which makes it all the more tragic that it doesn't work.Ben Stiller, who also directs, writes, and producers this movie, has a lot of fun. During pre-production, Stiller and Owen Wilson spent two days being photographed by Frank Ockenfels to create model "portfolios" for Zoolander and Hansel. They posed in mock ad campaigns for Gucci, Perry Ellis, Tommy Hilfiger and Evian, as well as bogus magazine covers for GQ, Details, Rolling Stone, Surfer, American Way, ESPN and the International Male catalog.Filmed in New York City and Los Angeles, the film creates an enjoyable world of glamorous fashion fiction. Production designer Robin Standefer and costume designer David C. Robinson imagine lush, outrageous, exotic costumes and images that greatly contribute to character development. Even with such a complex visual arena, however, Zoolander flops. It's visually entertaining, yes, but the story is not interesting, the characters one-dimensional, and the attempt at humor only occasionally makes us grimace. It's dazzling, flavorful candy for our eyes, but Zoolander is all style without substance.

What is this? A centre for ants?.

Ben Stiller not only directs but stars as the dim-witted male model Derek Zoolander. Derek has been top of the fashion world for years with his trademark `Blue Steel' look. However, there's a new guy on the block called Hansel (Owen Wilson) who starts to steal his thunder. To add to his troubles his friends are all killed in an unfortunate playful gasoline pump incident and he returns to his coal mining family, where he receives a distinctly frosty reception. Chastened he returns to the fashion world where he becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. BUT can dim-witted Derek foil the dastardly bad guys? Will he succeed in building a new school for children who have difficulty reading and writing and other stuff like that? And more importantly can he come up with a new look?

Its pretty tough to satirise a business that is already so clearly loony as the fashion world but Ben Stiller's Zoolander is a pretty successful ninety minute wonderfully stupid chucklefest. Ably supported by Owen Wilson, real-life wife Christine Taylor and real-life Dad Jerry Stiller, Zoolander is implausibly good fun, which is perfectly suited to the DVD format. It's full of excellent set-pieces and comic timing, such as the Walk-Off, Listen To Billy Zane and "What is this a centre for ants?". What's more it boasts some excellent cameos from the likes of Jon Voight (as Derek's coal miner Dad), David Bowie and Billy Zane. All in all this pretty much lives up to being `The Spinal Tap' of the fashion world. It's really good fun and you may even find yourself trying to perfect your own Blue Steel or Magnum in the mirror afterwards. If you don't like it, probably "you think you're too cool for school. Well here's a newsflash, Walter Kronkite...(extremely long pause)...you're aren't!"

Gets mighty tedious after a while.

ZOOLANDER (2001) Rating: 3/10Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller), he of the famed "Blue Steel" pose, has been the biggest thing in male modeling for the past few years, gracing magazine covers and billboards with his "really really really good looks", walking down the runways around the world and attending the trendiest parties with the hippest celebrities. Yet now trouble is nigh, with not only the hot new kid on the block Hansel (Owen Wilson) threatening to steal his thunder and a Time reporter (Christine Taylor) making him look like an idiot in an article but also evil designer Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) who brainwashes him into assassinating the prime minister of Malaysia to stop him from stopping child labor and henceforth putting clothes factories into jeopardy.Written like that, it sounds as if ZOOLANDER is quite a complex story, but all these plot-lines merely feel like afterthoughts. The spin on the "Manchurian Candidate" premise, for instance, is little more than an excuse to move from a more-or-less-comic set piece to another. It's based on a 5 minute bit Ben Stiller did for the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards which satirically confirmed the general impression that models are "vain, stupid and incredibly self-centered". The character of Derek Zoolander epitomizes these traits, and it's funny enough... for a while. But when that single joke is stretched to 90 minutes, it gets mighty tedious. Less than halfway though I was checking my watch in boredom and wondering how if there was much more to go.Stiller, who co-wrote the screenplay and directed, is no hack (I thought his previous THE CABLE GUY was a vastly underrated dark comedy), but his film is nonetheless generic, uneven and self-indulgent. Stiller gives way too much screen time to his wife Christine Taylor, who has the thankless role of the "serious" chick reporter always conveniently around to handle the plot exposition and serve as a love interest out of the blue. Ben also cast his dad Jerry Stiller to more success, as the old guy scores a couple of big laughs with some dubious material. Also shining through is Will Ferrell, who always manages to make me laugh. He's been the best thing about "Saturday Night Life" for the past decade, and he's hilarious here as a maniacal Bond villain of a designer with goofy white curls akin to his pet poodle's. Owen Wilson also has his moments as another variation on the neo-hippie/surfer dude he's been playing in every movie lately. As for Stiller himself, he's not bad, but this is just such a one note performance... Derek's vain, stupid and incredibly self-centered, all right, we get it, enough already!All in all, I can't recommend ZOOLANDER. I enjoyed a few parts of it, but they're lost in an endless string of dumb & dumber jokes, pointless cameos (I don't think Vince Vaughn has a single line), 80s pop montages and half-clever spoofs (2001, The Godfather...). There really isn't much to the film which couldn't fit in a 2 minute trailer.

One of the worst movies ever

Take a bad performance, combined with a crappy story and jokes that are "so" funny, that even 8 year old children can't laugh about it, mix it all up and the result will be this movie.IMO none of the jokes are worth to laugh at, even if I expected a pretty nice movie after I had seen the commercial.

Sporadically entertaining

The Bottom Line:

Zoolander is somehow considered something of a "classic" comedy when in fact it's a slight, inoffensively bland piece of filmmaking that offers up the occasional chuckle alongside long periods of blah; the title character is funny enough but Will Ferrell's villain is stupid and the movie never really gets you rolling in the aisles, let alone keep you there.

2.5/4

a waste of your time & money

This was the most banal of movies I've ever attended. I left about half way through when every hope of improvement had vanished. I can't believe the NY TIMES gave it a review at all. I'm writing this in hopes of saving others from a lost evening. Believe me, you have better things to do.

"I've been smoking peyote for 6 straight days"

I watched this movie while tripping on acid with spider monkeys.
I thought it rocked!

Silly but entertaining

No one's going to give Zoolander awards for cinematic achievement. The plot is Austin Powers light, and saying the acting is hammy is like saying the sky is kind of above the ground. Still, there are a lot of goofy laughs, most of them pretty clever, so it makes for a good rental or tv movie.Ben Stiller pulls an Orson Welles, or perhaps more accurately a Woody Allen as Derek Zoolander; aside from starring, he also directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the film. Zoolander is the world's top male model, a vacuous pretty boy (Who isn't all that good looking since it is, after all, Ben Stiller) who finds his world crashing down around him. His hated rival, Hansel (The hilarious Owen Wilson) is "hot" and wins Zoolander's award, Time magazine has just named him a "model idiot" and, to top it all off, an international cartel of fashion designers are plotting to use him as a disposable assassin in a scheme to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
It's just that simple!Stiller gets plenty of mileage out of dumb model jokes, and his performance is the ultimate innocuous idiot good guy. It's also nice to see the blonde female (Stiller's wife Christine Taylor) break stereotype and far outhink her male counterparts. But the plot starts to fall apart at the end, with a bizarre alliance between Hansel and Zoolander that feels wrong, and a clunky and unexciting finale. And for all his weirdness as evil designer Mugatu, Will Ferrell doesn't seem too funny, just weird. The movie is so slight, on a bad day I might have said avoid it. But in the right mood for the right price you can probably enjoy the movie on a certain level; goofy laughs and some good comedic acting.