Movie review: ‘Zoolander 2’

Some fashion never goes out of style — and, apparently, neither does Derek Zoolander.

Arriving 15 years after Ben Stiller first flashed the patented “Blue Steel” pout, Zoolander 2, which reunites the core cast and sends them strutting through Rome, occasionally needles the fashion industry, but often settles for being ingratiatingly stupid.

Buried amid all the jokes about orgies and the downright bizarre visual gags about the extremity of avant-garde clothing are a few lacerating asides about the culture’s addiction to narcissism (Stiller could not have known how “Blue Steel” would become shorthand for the duck face employed by selfie addicts), the thirst for eternal youth and some bracingly odd flourishes not often glimpsed in a mainstream comedy.

Although its main characters are obsessed with being thin, few would accuse Zoolander 2 of not having enough meat on its bones.

The screenplay is credited to four writers — Stiller, Justin Theroux, John Hamburg and Nicholas Stoller — and the plot ricochets from international intrigue to father-son bonding. (Added bonus: For those who haven’t watched Zoolander in a while, the pre-credits sequence catches you up.)

As the film opens, Derek Zoolander continues to mourn the death of his wife, one of the fatalities in the tragic 2001 collapse of his Derek Zoolander School for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Want to Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too (if that title doesn’t make you chuckle, this film is not for you).

Living as a “hermit crab” atop a mountain, Zoolander has shunned the world, fallen out of favor with the fashion industry and grown a very stylish beard.

A visit from Billy Zane (one of many celebrity cameos throughout the film) sets the story in motion, and soon, Zoolander is reunited with his best friend, Hansel (Owen Wilson, easily slipping back into breezy hedonism).

The pair is enlisted by Fashion Interpol agent Valentina Valencia (a game Penelope Cruz) to help unravel a baffling mystery involving Zoolander’s nemesis, Mugatu (Will Ferrell), and reunite Zoolander with his estranged son, Derek Jr. (Cyrus Arnold).

There’s much more, but it’s not terribly difficult to discern how Zoolander 2 will unfold.

As unnecessary sequels go, Zoolander 2 is relatively painless and generally amusing, and only occasionally strains for its punchlines — the climactic confrontation, in particular, tips from silliness into outright inanity.

The cast is uniformly on board, though, embracing the weirdness — Benedict Cumberbatch stars as ambisexual model All, in one of the film’s most outre sequences — and gleefully romping through Italy (the film was shot at the famed Cinecitta studio in Rome).

Stiller, who also directed and produced Zoolander 2, effectively marshals the eclectic group of actors (including a nearly unrecognizable Kristen Wiig) and famous faces, getting maximum impact from the brief cameos.

It’s all comfortable, easy filmmaking — the cinematic equivalent of slipping into an outfit from years ago and being pleasantly surprised it still fits.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 1:37 AM with the headline "Movie review: ‘Zoolander 2’."