'Zoolander 2' Review

I'm a tad late with this review as last week I went to see Deadpool but I got around to seeing the follow up to Zoolander and it's a sequel that was really ridiculously pointless. Zoolander 2 has fleeting glimpses of the funniest moments of the original and while I'll admit I chuckled a few times, the humor is severely lacking throughout, as a majority of the humor was showcased in the promotional material for the film. The film amounts to a grab-bag of random tongue and cheek celebrity cameos that are reminiscent of the fight scene from Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. The saddest thing about all of this is that you can tell effort is being made both in front of and behind the camera that results in a very muddled comedy. A majority of the original cast is back and ultimately just do the exact same thing as the original, and the lack of original comedy is exactly what makes this film so "la-me" as Derek Zoolander says in the film. Ben Stiller brings the dumbfounded male model back once again and is a little too comfortable in the role this time around. The same can be said for the other returning cast members, Owen Wilson as Hansel and Will Ferrell as Mugatu, who both fall right back into the ridiculous tropes of their respective characters. Penélope Cruz joins the cast with a smaller role but is serviceable for the character written for the film. Kristen Wiig is just plain weird as Alexanya Atoz, another mockery of the fashion industry. In summary, the film aims to be even funnier than it's original but ultimately shows signs of trying a bit too hard. If you are expecting Zoolander 2 to be just as good or even better than Zoolander, I'm telling you now that you are going to be very disappointed. I rarely discourage people from seeing a film in theaters, but sadly that's the case with Zoolander 2. 

Film Assessment: F