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Zoolander

Zoolander

Comedy · 2001

Clear the runway for Derek Zoolander, VH1's three-time male model of the year. His face falls when hippie-chic Hansel scooters in to steal this year's award. The evil fashion guru Mugatu seizes the opportunity to turn Derek into a killing machine. It's a well-designed conspiracy and only with the help of Hansel and a few well-chosen accessories like Matilda can Derek make the world safe for male models everywhere.

Movie details

Zoolander

“3% body fat. 1% brain activity.”

2001 Comedy 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Clear the runway for Derek Zoolander, VH1's three-time male model of the year. His face falls when hippie-chic Hansel scooters in to steal this year's award. The evil fashion guru Mugatu seizes the opportunity to turn Derek into a killing machine. It's a well-designed conspiracy and only with the help of Hansel and a few well-chosen accessories like Matilda can Derek make the world safe for male models everywhere.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Zoolander?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ben Stiller

Written by

John Hamburg · Drake Sather · Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Derek Zoolander

Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson

Hansel

Christine Taylor

Christine Taylor

Matilda Jeffries

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell

Mugatu

Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich

Katinka

Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller

Maury Ballstein

David Duchovny

David Duchovny

J.P. Prewitt

Court is in session

Put Zoolander on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.