Zoolander 2

I love the original Zoolander.

It's probably in my Top 10 favorite comedies of all time because it, at least to me, is almost the pinnacle of stupid humor done right. It knows it is too and it lives in this world it creates, the world of male models, and seems so fresh and so consistently original that even over a decade later it holds up remarkably well.

The announcement for the sequel has had me very excited for a long time, especially because Ben Stiller himself would be returning to writing and directing duties. The trailers were pretty darn funny and the extravagant advertising all around the world for this follow up was both impressive and subtly funny.

It's too bad that the movie was so phoned in then.

If I had a nickel for every time I said, "It's not as bad as a lot of mainstream critics are saying" I probably could have skipped playing the Powerball a couple months back, but Zoolander 2 is another example of a film where we both agree that it's not what it could have/should have been, though I didn't outright hate it.

Instead, Zoolander 2 represents merely another trip to that aforementioned world of modeling that is less complete with its own jokes and more stuffed with returning gags or jokes that fall horrendously flat. For big fans of the first film, I enjoyed one more trip back with some great characters, but I can't see myself ever choosing to watch this sequel over the original, nor do I think we need to take it any further with a Zoolander 3.

#Jealous

While not as outright bad as Dumb and Dumber To, Zoolander 2 still ranks as a disappointment. I laughed a decent amount, but no where near as much as the original. Perhaps it hurt my perception of it when I laughed almost non-stop in the weekend's other [better] release, Deadpool, but either way, there is just too much in Zoolander 2 that is alarmingly tone deaf. Many of the recycled gags/jokes are still damn funny, but if I were to filter the jokes to only the new stuff, I think only a solid third of it hits the mark. What you're left with is a comedy much like most of last year's: quantity over quality. The issue comes when some of Zoolander 2's would-be jokes are so unfunny that you wonder what the f**k they were thinking. In particular, I have absolutely no idea what they were going for with Fred Armisen as Vip or with Kyle Mooney as Don Atari. Their segments are so painfully unfunny it's shocking -- not a single person in my theater was laughing at what was supposed to be a gaggle of jokes. There are also a lot of one-liners that don't quite come across the way they were intended and ultimately we are left with a film that is a significant notch less comedic than its near-genius predecessor (yes, I realize the irony of that statement).

Romantic spin-off film?

Zoolander 2 isn't all bad though. I found its explanation of the passage of time quite funny and it's still a blast to see the characters of Derek, Hansel, and Mugatu again. While newcomer Penelope Cruz isn't given too much to do comedy-wise, she still fits in well and my God, is she nice to look at. Kristen Wiig is unsurprisingly the best new main character addition as Atoz, a fashion icon who has been botoxed to oblivion and has a thick, unknown accent. The film is packed to the brim with celebrity cameos and other than the two mentioned previously, the rest work from varying degrees of fun to hilarious. While the plot isn't anything special either, it's still amusing as Derek tries to win his son back by reentering the world of male modeling and there are some funny bits to be had in the fish-out-of-water scenarios that it creates.

Is it bad that I actually kind of like that jacket?

This will be one of those short reviews as I don't have much else to say about this one. I found enough to like that I can justify spending the time to see it, but I was also a huge fan of the first one. If you disliked the first film all those years ago, you'll probably come away thinking this is one of the worst movies ever. It's not, but it's also not a successful sequel and it makes me particularly worried about Ben Stiller as a director seeing as how so many segments fall flat hard. It's worth a viewing for the fans, but not many others.

Let's just hope that if they ever greenlight that Dodgeball sequel we all want, they spend a little more time at the drawing board before the film starts to roll.

CONS:

• About half of its jokes fall flat. Some of them are so unfunny that it's a wonder they ever made it in the film at all
• Neither myself nor my entire Friday night audience thought Don Atari or Vip were funny. Such odd, odd choices there
• Feels a bit phoned in in more ways than one
• One-time view as I imagine everyone would rather watch the original over this given the chance
• We all knew it wouldn't be able to be as fresh as that first one, but it still just feels old and dated by a couple years

PROS:

• It's fun to see Derek and Hansel back at it and Ferrell as Mugatu is still funny
• Penelope Cruz fits in fine!
• Kristin Wiig is the best new "big" character
• Some priceless celebrity cameos and gags
• There are some really solid laughs throughout that feel as funny as anything the original provided
• Fun, zany plot that offers an amusing explanation for what happened after the first film
• The marketing and advertising were well done for the months leading up to this one
• For fans of Zoolander, it's a mostly worthwhile trip back to the world of male modeling, even if it's only for one time

Rath's Review Score: 6/10