Charge your micro-mini cell phones and whip up some orange mocha Frappuccino, 'cuz <I>Zoolander</I> is on the runway, and you're gonna laugh your booty off! Based on a sketch created by writer-director Ben Stiller and cowriter Drake Sather for the 1996 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, <I>Zoolander</I> is a delirious send-up of New York's fashion scene as epitomized by male model Derek Zoolander (Stiller), a dimwitted preener who's oblivious to a <I>Manchurian Candidate</I>-like plot to turn him into a brainwashed assassin. Tipped off by a reporter (Christina Taylor), Zoolander teams with rival model Hansel (Owen Wilson) to foil the poodle-haired fashion designer (Will Ferrell) who's behind the nefarious scheme. The goofy plot's only half the fun; with roles for Stiller's parents (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara), dozens of celebrity cameos, endlessly quotable dialogue, and improvisational energy to spare, <I>Zoolander</I> is very smart about being very stupid, easily matching the <I>Austin Powers</I> franchise for inspired comedic lunacy. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I>
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