Zoolander 2 review: ‘Cameos from Bieber and SuBo can’t save this unfunny nostalgia-fest’

Released back in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Zoolander was somewhat of a box-office flop, with audiences at home not really feeling in the right mood for a comedy blockbuster. However, the madcap modelling satire soon crept up on its audiences, becoming a commonly-quoted cult hit.

Zoolander 2 sees our hapless heroes Derek (Stiller) and Hansel (Wilson) called to Rome to get to the bottom of who’s been murdering celebrities as they Instagram the famous ‘blue-steel’ in their final breath.

So, 15 years later, do modelling duo Derek and Hansel still have the same fire? It’s a film that feels as though it really wants to please the fans of the original, which is its strength but also its downfall: Over the course of 100 minutes, writer and director Ben Stiller throws in as many of the gags he possibly can from the previous film. And while there’s plenty of throwback fun to be had, the repetition soon grows stale. Some of the laughs just haven’t aged well enough for an audience in 2016, and it fails to produce a modern edge. For example, female stereotyping on film has come a long way since 2001, and so Penelope Cruz’s character, the feisty special agent Valentina Valencia, while she has her moments, feels like a dated female sex symbol instead of the tounge-in-cheek action hero she could have been.

There’s also the case of controversial ‘All’, a gender-ambiguous character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. The character immediately landed Zoolander 2 in hot water at the end of 2015 upon the release of the trailer, where All was accused of being a cartoonish and clichéd trans misrepresentation, with thousands signing a petition against the film. In wake of this controversy, it’s unknown if some of the footage of the character could have been cut or edited, as the character herself doesn’t feel too offensive. But All’s brief scenes may still get some people’s eye’s rolling, as Derek, who is such a sexually free character, seems so spooked by the idea of a trans person. Ultimately, whether All has a ‘hotdog or a bun’ shouldn’t be the butt of the joke.

While you may hear a pin drop during a lot of the jokes here, what the film does excel in, is its excessive use of cameos. Everyone from Susan Boyle, to Anna Wintour to Justin Bieber makes an appearance, and that’s where most of the comedy and appeal lays.

We know you would never expect a masterpiece with this chaotic comedy, but if you’re a big fan of the original, Zoolander, it’s a decent slice of nostalgia, if not, maybe wait for it to appear on Netflix… or avoid it altogether.

Rating: 2/5

Zoolander 2 hits UK cinemas tomorrow (February 12).

Words: Joe Passmore

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