Zoolander 2

Director: Ben Stiller
Year Released: 2016
Rating: 1.5

After years in 'exile' in brutal Extreme Northern New Jersey, former fashion model Derek Zoolander (Stiller) - along with his ol' promiscuous partner Hansel (Owen Wilson) - have to once again deal with criminal mastermind/piano key necktie inventor Mugatu (Will Ferrell), who wants to sacrifice Zoolander's pudgy son and eat his heart (yes ... this is the actual plot). As I wrote with the first one some fifteen years ago (Chronos, Chronos why have you forsaken us?), 'satirizing' the world of haute couture is a cakewalk - isn't Rick Owens basically doing that from the inside? - so all this amounts to is tired sight gags, Stiller and Wilson playing dumb and a long string of celebrity cameos, ranging from the hilarious (Cumberbatch, Sutherland, Malkovich, the Biebs) to the awkward/dumb (Wintour, Wang, Katy Perry, Sting, Tyson). Not much is there in terms of subtext - 'getting older doesn't mean you have to go out of style' only applies if you're someone like Karl Lagerfeld (who does not make an appearance).