ZOOLANDER
DVD FEATURES
Region Reviewed: Region 1
Number of Discs: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital
5.1
Picture: 2.35:1
Anamorphic
Special
Features: Commentary
by Ben Stiller and Writers Drake Sather & John Hamburg,
5 Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Ben Stiller, 5 Extended
Scenes with Commentary by Ben Stiller, Outtakes, Music
Video : "Start The Commotion" by the Wiseguys,
Alternate End Title Sequence, Photo Galleries, Interactive
Menus Hosted by Derek Zoolander.
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Zoolander
Plot:
Zoolander is the outlandishly fun comedy about a ridiculously
good-looking supermodel who must save the world.
Zoolander
Review:
Ah the life of a model. All that glamour, money, famous people
wanting to be your friend, and those outrageous parties, the
life that many dream of.
To many of us, we know that the glamour is often an illusion
as modeling is a world filled with backstabbing, infighting,
and all manner of leaches that use people and then spit them
out. Most people are well aware of this, but why do so many
people want to be a part of it? It is the desire for fame,
money, and all the trappings?
While that is often part of it, the simple answer for some
is that they just do not know any better. Such is the case
of Derek Zoolander, three time male model of the year, and
inventor of the famous Blue Steel look.
Writer, Director, and Producer Ben Stiller has created with
the help of MTV movie awards writer Drake Sather, Derek Zoolander,
male model supreme and as clueless as he is famous. Derek
is a legend in his own, mind, obsessed with his looks, and
very jealous and petty. Ah, but beneath this shiny front,
there is a man in deep pain.
Derek is up for an unprecedented fourth Male Model of the
Year award, and standing is his way, is the hot new model
Hansel(Owen Wilson) who Derek sees as a poser not worthy of
any attention. When the winner is announced, Derek strides
to the podium to give yet another acceptance speech. Fate
has dealt Derek a cruel blow, when he realizes that Hansel,
has won the award, and that he is no longer the top model
in the world. As a result, Derek suffers depression and starts
to feel vulnerable and question his life and choices he has
made.
Before he knows what has happened, Derek has lost his three
friends in a gas fight accident, and is portrayed in a Time
Magazine cover story as an idiot. Desperate to find out if
there is more to life than a pretty face, Derek heads home
to work in the family business, coal mining.
Needless to say, Dereks father(John Voight), is not
happy to see his son back, and is even less impressed with
his male mermaid commercials, and lack of a manly job. The
reunion is short lived, and Derek soon becomes a pawn in a
deadly scheme created by designer, Mugatu(Will Ferrell), and
his hired muscle, Katinka(Milla Jovovich) from using him to
kill the new Malaysian Prime Minister. It seems the new Prime
Minister is bent on closing sweatshops in his land, and since
sweatshops are the backbone of the fashion industry, and he
is not willing to be bribed, he must be stopped at all costs.
Assisting Derek in his quest to find himself and who is behind
the plot, are Stillers real life Wife Christine Taylor,
as Matilda, a reporter and love interest, and comedy legend,
and Bens father Jerry Stiller plays the head of the
Dereks modeling agency Maury Ballstein.
One of the biggest surprises in the film is Wilson, who worked
with stiller previously in Meet the Parents and
Permanent Midnight. Wilson portrays Hansel as
a deep, spiritual person, who while not as shallow as Derek,
is just as clueless, but a globe trotting thrill seeker who
is looks up to Derek secretly. When Wilson and Stiller are
on the screen, they have a great chemistry and it results
in some great comic moments in the film.
This film is one of those films that are difficult to review.
On one hand, it was stupid, lacking a story, and many of the
jokes were not that funny, or seemed forced. However, there
were some great laughs in the film, and on more than one instance
I caught myself laughing long and hard at some of the antics
that were unfolding on screen.
Stiller shows that he is a talent, as he keeps Derek sympathetic
despite portraying him as shallow and selfish, yet sympathetic
and worth routing for. We learn that Derek is worried about
losing his fame, and that he family does not accept his career.
He also decides that he wants to help others, but is not sure
whom to help, simply those who need help he proclaims.
What makes Zoolander interesting is the way it
shows the bad side of an industry while poking fun at the
excess. For example, we see the shallow, plotting characters
that are only concerned with who are hot today. We also see
the extreme measures some will take to succeed in the industry,
and we see the pain that many have when they realize that
they are hot today, and forgotten tomorrow as is the case
of a retired hand model played by David Duchovny.
As a director, Stiller keeps the film moving along and does
not take himself or the film too seriously and as such neither
should the audience. While not the comedies that Stiller gave
audiences with Meet the Parents, and Theres
Something About Mary, Stiller shows that he is not afraid
to try new avenues to express himself. In the lower profile
yet funny Mystery Men: and Keeping the Faith
Stiller showed characters that he can get comedy as either
playing the straight guy, or as the over the top character.
At times, Zoolander is very funny, as Derek has
his extremes, yet has a sensitive, caring side. The walk off
scene between Derek and Hansel is very funny and had the audience
in stitches. So how does the final product add up? Much like
a fashion show, gaudy, at times extreme, some presentations
hit, others miss, but in the end, most of us had a good time.
When seeing Zoolander takes a cue from Derek,
and turn your brain off for a while and you just might have
a good time in spite of yourself.
Zoolander Disc Review: DVD features,
5 deleted scenes with commentary by Ben Stiller, 5 extended
scenes with commentary by Ben Stiller, outtakes and much more.
A good all round disc.
Gareth J. Von Kallenbach
Overall Rating - MOVIE: 3/5
- DISC: 4/5
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