(Photo credit: Philippe Antonello © 2015 Paramount Pictures)
“Derek Zoolander, I’m with Interpol. I need your help,” says Valentina (Penelope Cruz) to Zoolander (Ben Stiller) who’s been lured out of retirement from modeling, along with his friend Hansel (Owen Wilson), in the comedy sequel Zoolander 2.
Someone has been murdering famous popstars/’beautiful people’ and just before they die, they take goodbye selfies and send them out on the internet posing with what looks to be one of Zoolander’s famous signature looks: Blue Steel. The newly deceased’s final pose means the world’s most famous model – as well as the dumbest – might hold the key to figuring out who is behind the killing spree that’s already taken the lives of Bruce Springsteen and Justin Bieber.
Interpol Special Agent Valentina tracks down Zoolander to convince him to help, but Zoolander, having just been humiliated at the hands of the new fashion divas, is in no mood to offer assistance. Instead, he tries to return to being a “hermit crab” living in the mountains of New Jersey. Valentina tells Zoolander if he helps her, she’ll use her resources at Interpol to help him discover the whereabouts of his estranged son.
It seems Zoolander was pronounced an unfit parent years ago when his son was small, and he lost custody of him to social services. Desperate to find his son, Zoolander agrees to Valentina’s deal, with Hansel also offering his assistance to help his friend.
Uninspired and pointless, Zoolander 2 is a painfully stupid sequel with practically no plot and even fewer laughs. This is a horrible follow-up to a film that wasn’t that popular when it came out back in 2001 but became a semi-cult hit after finding new life on video. The writing is terrible with obvious and desperate one-liners or plays on words that fall flat. Besides the short set-up described above, the film’s flimsy plot isn’t worth mentioning.
Rather than come up with a funny or interesting story, Stiller relies on too many famous cameos, including Kiefer Sutherland, Justin Bieber, and Sting, to surprise the audience and fill the void of a real plot.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson had some fun chemistry together in the first film but seem to be phoning it in here. The rest of the cast comes across as either there for the paycheck or perhaps because they’re paying back a favor to Stiller. It’s still early in the year, but so far Zoolander 2 is at the top of the list of the worst films of 2016.
GRADE: F
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, a scene of exaggerated violence, and brief strong language
Running Time: 102 minutes
Release Date: February 12, 2016
