“Zoolander 2” focuses on the former models Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller, and Hansel, portrayed by Owen Wilson, who find themselves in isolation after the events of the first “Zoolander” movie, in which Derek and Hansel were rivals competing for the crown of the fashion world. When the models are invited to Rome to be a part of a fashion show, they must come together and face the changes in the industry which they had left. However, when someone starts killing famous pop stars, Derek and Hansel must work with special agent Valentina Valencia, played by Penelope Cruz, to save the “world’s most beautiful people.”
“Zoolander 2” opened on Feb. 12 as a long overdue sequel to the 2001 comedy hit. The original “Zoolander” movie has been considered a cult classic for its use of ridiculous humor. The first “Zoolander” movie, also starring Stiller and Wilson along with Will Ferrell used the dumbness of the characters to deliver an extremely original type of comedy. However, with the sequel now being released 15 years after the original, the moronic humor in “Zoolander 2” fails to deliver the same gut punching laughs.
It is difficult to grade the performances of the actors within the movie because of the ridiculously ludicrous things they have to say and do. For example, in the movie, Stiller’s character delivers a line and afterwards freezes into a stupid “model” pose and the camera hangs on that pose for a couple seconds before cutting to whoever is responding. This happens almost every time Stiller says a line, and after the first couple times, it becomes mind-numbingly annoying. It is not just Stiller; Wilson and Cruz do it as well, and after awhile it becomes just downright appalling. However, there was one positive thing: Ferrell’s performance as the villain Mugatu. Ferrell was funny, mainly because he played an intelligent character, who can actually deliver jokes, instead of just acting ridiculously stupid.
Seriously, not much needs to be said about this movie. It is just dumb. The characters are dumb. The plot is dumb. The acting is dumb. And worst of all, the humor is dumb. As a comedy, the only thing that really matters is that it is funny, and, unless you are a 7-year-old boy, this movie is not funny. The jokes are just simple and stupid, like the humor you would expect from a young child. The characters are just annoying. Why? Because they are unbelievably idiotic, they make decisions and say things that just make you shake your head and ask yourself “Who could possibly find this funny?” And that is the point of this movie: to generate laughs through the ridiculous stupidity of the characters. However, if you possess an average or above average intelligence then this movie just makes you want to beat your head into a wall.
In the end, “Zoolander 2” is dumb, stupid, idiotic, moronic, unimaginative and simple-minded. It is flat out unenjoyable. Maybe if this movie had been released earlier, following closer to the success of the first movie, maybe it would have been received better. Maybe. It all depends on the intelligence of the viewer, but most American moviegoer possess some sense of mental acuity, which means most people will leave this movie wanting to cry because they realized they wasted two hours of their lives.
The Parkway West Pathfinder give Zoolander 2 1.5/10.
