Zoolander (2001)

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

Drake Sather (character Derek Zoolander) &
Ben Stiller (character Derek Zoolander) ...

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

3% Body Fat. 1% Brain Activity.

Plot:

At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Plot Keywords:

Fashion | Male Model | Malaysia | Time Magazine | Rival

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Jan. 3

2:00 PM

SHOW

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Derek Zoolander
Owen Wilson	...	Hansel
Christine Taylor	...	Matilda Jeffries
Will Ferrell	...	Mugatu
Milla Jovovich	...	Katinka
Jerry Stiller	...	Maury Ballstein
David Duchovny	...	J.P. Prewitt
Jon Voight	...	Larry Zoolander
Judah Friedlander	...	Scrappy Zoolander
Nathan Lee Graham	...	Todd
Alexandre Manning	...	Brint (as Alexander Manning)
Asio Highsmith	...	Rufus
Alexander Skarsgård	...	Meekus
Donald Trump	...	Himself
Christian Slater	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Derek Zoolander (USA) (working title)
Zoolander (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and drug references.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | Australia | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (original rating) | Singapore:(Banned) (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating after appeal) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG

Trivia:

Christine Taylor's character says she was overweight as a kid; something that her "Hey Dude" (1989) character Melody was as well.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The shots of the rallies in Malaysia seem to show banners displaying Chinese text, while the Prime Minister's platform shows English and Arabic text. All of these are highly unlikely in the real Malaysia itself. The national and dominant political language of Malaysia is Malay, and is written in Romanized text due to Malaysia's past as a British colony.

Quotes:

[first lines]
(Announcer): And here in Malaysia, there is an almost overwhelming sense of euphoria as the newly-elected prome minister has given this nation a gift of hope promising to raise the substandard minimum wage and end child labor once and for all. Already considered a living saint he has become this small country's greatest hope for a thriving future in the new millennium.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Madagascar (2005)

Soundtrack:

Let's Dance

Flawed, but so hilarious it doesn't seem to matter

When I first saw this I was expecting a total disaster of a movie. Persuaded by my older brother, I rented it and watched with a skeptical mind. I like Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson OK, but the idea just seemed so stupid and the fact it was based on some short on VH-1 making fun of male models seemed like it wasn't thought out too well.

What I ended up doing was laughing so much I nearly died. This movie's story is definitely pretty ridiculous and not completely thought out, but the list of characters and cameos alone make this worth a treat. This is probably the funniest I've seen Will Ferrel, and Jerry Stiller plays his usual old crotchedy man with flying colors. Almost every scene with them makes you laugh out loud. It seems pretty obvious that even though it was a feature film, Ben Stiller seemed to have a lot of control over this. Definitely isn't made to please the masses, but those who can appreciate ridiculous, campy humor and are fans of these actors will find themselves wanting to show this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. I won;t ruin any of it, except to say the funniest line in the movie is "Merman! MERMAN!!!" And expect many great cameos, especially Billy Zane. You'll understand once you see it.