Zoolander

Zoolander

Directed by Ben Stiller

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, and Christine Taylor

Time for a little laughter and fun. This time it’s Zoolander that has made my list of guilty pleasures. The film features a great list of stars including Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, and Christine Taylor. In addition to the stars there are cameos by Paris Hilton, Billy Zane, David Bowie, and many more stars. The film was directed by Ben Stiller who also stars as the title character.

When you take a male model at the end of his career and brainwash him into killing the Prime Minister of Malaysia you might not expect laughs. This film defies expectation when it takes this premise and makes it a comedy. Derek Zoolander (Stiller) is the aging model who has found himself out of the spotlight as rising star Hansel (Wilson) takes center stage. As Zoolander deals with this he’s appraoched by the one designer who never gave him a chance, Mugatu (Ferrell). Mugatu gives him a chance to be the face of his new line. The line becomes the cover for the plot against the Prime Minister that plans to use Zoolander as the assassin.

All descriptions aside this is a funny film. It isn’t going to win any awards (actually it won a Teen Choice Award), but it will keep you smiling. The idea that models are less than intelligent is played upon throughout the whole film. The acting is exactly what you’d expect from this bunch as well. Each of the main characters plays to their strengths. This was one of the first times I saw Will Ferrell outside of SNL and he didn’t disappoint.

This isn’t a film for everyone. It’s funny and crude at times. It’s also ridiculous and off the wall. If you’re someone who can’t loosen up then I would avoid this. If you want a few good laughs and a silly story I would check this one out. I give it 2.6 out of 5 stars on my scale, but I would give it 5 stars on my guilty pleasures scale.

Rating: R

Running Time: 89 minutes