When his model friends die in a freak accident and he loses a fashion award to his archrival Hans (Owen Wilson), Zoolander begins a soul-searching journey and discovers the dark secret behind why no male fashion model has ever made it past age 30.
Stiller seems to have made the most of his connections in show business. His wife, Christine Taylor, plays the sassy Time reporter who tags along with Zoolander for most of the movie. His father, Jerry Stiller (George's father on "Seinfeld") plays Maury Baulstein, a good-hearted, pushover model manager with prostate problems. Stiller also seems to have copped cameos from all the friends and acquaintances he could hunt down; some of the more famous names are Natalie Portman, Donald Trump, Lance Bass, David Bowie, Fabio, Larry Sanders, Winona Ryder, Billy Zane and Vince Vaughn.
Highlights in this star-studded supporting cast include David Duchovny as a graveyard keeper who enlightens Zoolander about what's really going on in the fashion world, and Milla Jovovich as the Russian dominatrix Katinka, who works for Mugatu, a designer mogul (Will Ferrell).
Despite some potentially un-PC comments, Stiller skillfully manages to keep the tone light throughout the movie. Seemingly serious issues such as murder, bulimia, self-perception and stereotypes receive the most comedic attention, although Stiller proves that he is equally adept at stupid-for-stupid's-sake jokes, a la the Farrelly brothers.
The script, although it is mostly an excuse for the jokes, hangs together suprisingly well. The only major break in the plot's continuity-Zoolander's return to his working- class, "real people" roots-is forgivable, since it provides some of the biggest laughs. The family reunion sequence also provides a great excuse to introduce Jon Voight as Zoolander's coal-miner father. In response to the father's horror at seeing his son in an Aveda commercial as a mermaid, Zoolander swears he is a "merman… a merMAN!"
Stiller shines in his self-created role. Derek Zoolander is an extension of the patented Ben Stiller schtick, crossed with a bit of Austin Powers and an over-the-top narcisissm that is completely his own. "Zoolander" maps the spiritual crisis of an utterly shallow man, a paradox that sparks many of film's laughs. When Stiller falls to his knees in a muddy puddle and dramatically screams, "Why? Who am I?" he still looks like he's preening for his close-up.
Zoolander's wacky mannerisms, including the inability to make left turns and adding the extra syllable "oo" in many of his words, enhance the movie and aren't redundant despite the numerous times they surface. Stiller's extremely mobile eyebrows, which give Zoolander a simultaneously intense and confused expression throughout the movie, deserve their own credit.