Zoolander

Zoolander is a movie that for a long time I was very resistant to. There were a couple people that heralded this movie as a classic but I didn't really understand why? I watched a little bit of it a few years ago and I had to turn it off because it was so stupid. I just wasn't interested in the movie.

But with the new trailer for 2ooLander, and a lot of hype over this new movie coming out, I had to dig into Netflix and find this movie and figure out what the big hype was, and probably give this movie the chance it has earned.

Zoolander follows the story of Derek Zoolander, an incredibly feminine male model who is incredibly successful in his profession.

Of course the joke is that he builds his fame around the fact that he gives a great look when he's on the runway, whether its El Tigris, Ferrari, and of course Blue Steel. But the joke is that all these looks are the same look. Ha...

But Zoolander finds himself in a bit of a rough patch when he is beaten out for the award of Best Male Model by the new name in the fashion world, Hansel (played by Owen Wilson).

After a horrible accident involving a gasoline pump fight (which the first time I saw that I laughed so hard), Zoolander decides that he's going to retire from modeling.

But he is approached by famous fashion designer, Mugatu (played by Will Ferrell). He offers Zoolander an opportunity to fulfill his passion to teach kids who can't read good (get it cause Derek Zoolander is a dumbass) as long as he participates in Mugatu's new fashion show coming up. Secretly, Mugatu is making Derek a sleeper assassin to kill the Malaysian Prime Minister.

The majority of the movie is Derek discovering the conspiracy he's being put through with the help of Hansel and a reporter (played by Christine Jefferies).

Now I will concede a little bit and say, this movie made me laugh a lot more than I thought it was going to. When I realized that this movie is trying to be stupid and not a single line of dialogue is supposed to be taken seriously, the movie did get a little bit more entertaining then I originally thought.

That being said, this movie is really, really stupid. And I go back and forth on whether or not I think its stupid enough that I don't like it or if I think its the kind of movie that's just stupid enough but also a lot of fun that you don't have to think that much when you watch it, its just pure entertainment.

I don't know.

The truth is, I don't like Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson as actors. Its probably because I wasn't brought up on their movies like this one, but I've never been a huge fan. So there is a part of me that doesn't like it just because they're in it. However, at the same time, because this movie did make me laugh a lot more than I originally thought, I appreciate them a little bit more than I thought I was going to.

The funny part is of course watching Will Ferrell.

Its very hard for Will Ferrell not to get me with almost everything thing he does. However, what I've figured out recently is that I don't actually like a lot of his earlier work.

The first time I watched this movie I thought the only good part was Will Ferrell but watching it now I kind of realize that this was back in the day where Will Ferrell was more of a character actor and therefore was able to go off the handle more often.

What I've realized from this movie is that those Will Ferrell outbursts that I love are really only funny when they're used in moderation. If he's just screaming all the time, its not as funny every time he does it. So in this movie, he's this cartoon villain and its funny, but I've seen Will Ferrell be more subtle, even in cartoon roles like Elf, and I like those more subtle characters more than I like Mugatu.

Its weird because I went into this movie loving Will Ferrell and not really liking Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson, and coming out of the movie it was actually the reverse. I like Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson when they are more cartoon characters and I like Will Ferrell when he's not always a cartoon character 100%. Its a weird shift.

What I'm beginning to understand with this movie is that it is a very quotable movie.

And actually watching it, I'm glad that I can actually say that I know where some of these quotes and references are coming from now.

The movie does have a couple of really random movie references in itself which was a little bit odd and just out of place because it never felt like that kind of movie.

And the more I think about Zoolander, the more I like it but by the same token, the more time passes the more I forget about some of the memorable parts of it, so it loses the charm and therefore doesn't really seem memorable for me.

I don't know, again, its that question of is it so stupid its its own brand of movie, or is it stupid enough for me not to enjoy it.

Honestly, I'm more excited about 2ooLander than I originally was after I saw this movie especially because some of the moments from the trailer make a lot more sense after watching the first movie (big surprise huh?)

I'm going to stop pontificating on this movie and just say it is what it is. Its a stupid movie that I think has a lot of funny moments in it and is very quotable. Is it a classic? I don't think so, at least not in my book.

The truth is, I'm so excited for DeadPool that I probably won't see this movie this weekend and then I'll just put it off for a long time that I won't really care anymore... and maybe one day I'll see it, and I hope its good. But Zoolander is not the movie for me, at least not totally.

It was a short review but what did you think about Zoolander? Are you going to see 2oolander or Deadpool this weekend? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for future movies I should review. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews as well as live tweets from movies that I'm watching live.

I'll leave you with this. I'm really tempted to leave a Deadpool trailer because I'm that excited for it, but I'll stick to the theme and give you the trailer for the second Zoolander in case you haven't seen it. Enjoy!