When is enough finally going to be enough? There was a time, when I found Ben Stiller hilarious, before he perverted himself into the American version of Hugh Grant, banging $3 whores in the back seat of an Aries K parked in the hills of L.A.....oh no, I meant rather mimicking his acting style, bumbling over his words, nervously fighting his way through awkward moments and essentially playing the same exact character movie after painful bad movie. Zoolander may well have been Stiller's high water mark, but I look at this film much the same way Morgan Spurlock must have as he glanced at that final Big Mac on Day 30 of Supersize Me.

Zoolander was the launchpad for many more bad movies that saw Ben Stiller as the vehicle that delivered much more interesting characters, and infinitely more talented personalities than himself. Case in point. Stiller's character Derek Zoolander, while mildly amusing was completely outshined by co-stars Owen Wilson playing Hansel, and Will Ferrel appearing as Mugatu. A classic representation of the Ironside Agenda.

Zoolander dives into the world of male models and paints them as unintelligent, narcissist assholes. That's as bold a stroke as making a movie about Hitler and portraying him as an individual who was less than fond of the Jews. However Zoolander explores a conspiracy that dates back to the time of Lincoln, where male models are brainwashed and transformed into assassins. John Wilkes Boothe the original male model, assassinated President Lincoln for freeing the slaves, and thereby destroying the fashion industry's means of cheap labor. Present day, the Prime Minister of Malaysia is preparing to introduce a new set labor laws that will effectively put an end to sweat shops in that country. An underground global fashion union decides that the Prime Minister must be stopped, and a male model must be used to assassinate him or risk losing their affordable means of manufacturing and production. Enter Derek Zoolander. Played by Ben Stiller, Zoolander is an idiot, bordering on mental retardation....but the man is hot. Swayze hot! And in our society that's all that matters. Who cares about substance and personality as long as the package is wrapped tight and presentable.

Zoolander's nemesis is Hansel, an up and coming young male model played brilliantly by Owen Wilson, who threatens to usurp the former's status in the world of male modeling. Effectively doing so in the beginning of the movie, Hansel wins the Model of the Year, and sends Zoolander down the dark path which will forever dominate his destiny. He briefly retires for about a day, until leading fashion designer Mugatu, also magnificently portrayed by Will Ferrell coaxes him back into the fold to model his newest clothing line. This gesture by Mugatu was merely a beard, designed to bring Zoolander in, and brainwash him into an assassin. The same assassin that will be used to take out the Prime Minister.

After half a movie of rivalry, which included a walk off (something male models do when they disagree....that and mounds of coke), Zoolander and Hansel team up to stop Mugatu....right after a few cups of hash tea and an orgy in the dirt room. Nice! Once united the duo manage to thwart the evil plans of Mugatu with some zany and witty escapades and save the day.

Following the 2001release of Zoolander, Stiller has gone on to do more movies in the past 5 years than Kirk Douglas has done in his entire lifetime. Prior to Zoolander he had already reached his saturation point with Something About Mary, Mystery Men, and Meet the Parents (not to mention countless cameos in other films and television shows), but following Zoolander, the list continues to grow like an inoperable tumor. The Royal Tennenbaums, Along Came Polly, Starsky & Hutch, Envy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Meet the Fockers, a voiceover role in Madagascar and as previously mentioned, countless cameos in other films and television shows. His pre and post production list is absurd, with almost 10 films awaiting their release on the big screen. We have all been Stillered.

Zoolander is definitely worth the viewing just to see Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell shine. These two are brilliant, but should both proceed with caution because they are both in danger of being Stillered themselves. However, their appearance in this film does warrant 2 extra Hamlins. Well done gentlemen. Well done indeed.

Hamlin Grade: 2

Timothy Dalton is the one true James Bond,
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