Zoolander (2001) ft. Sarah Duncan
Guest:
Sarah Duncan
Sister of Tom, Daughter of Dana
@thenomadicarchaeologist on IG
13x guest
Cast:
Ben Stiller, Writer/Director, Derek Zoolander
Drake Sather and John Hamberg, Writers
Barry Peterson, Cinematography
David Arnold, Music
Greg Hayden, Editing
Owen Wilson as Hansel McDonald
Christine Taylor as Matilda Jeffries
Will Ferrell as Jacobim Mugatu
Milla Jovovich as Katinka Ingabogovinanana
Jerry Stiller as Maury Ballstein
David Duchovny as J.P. Prewett
Jon Voight as Larry Zoolander
Vince Vaughn as Luke Zoolander
Judah Friedlander as Scrappy Zoolander
Nathan Lee Graham as Todd
Justin Theroux as the Evil DJ
Woodrow Asai as Malaysian Prime Minister Hassan
Background:
Zoolander was released on September 28, 2001.
On a budget of roughly $28 million, Zoolander grossed nearly $60.8 million to finish at #70 in the worldwide box office for 2001.
Reviews of the film were mixed with some loving the comedy and other criticizing it for being insensitive and vapid.
After a decade as a cult classic, Zoolander had a sequel in 2016.
Zoolander currently holds a 64% among critics on RT, a 61 score on Metacritic, and a 3.4/5 on Letterboxd.
Plot Summary: Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is a not-too-bright supermodel who loses his crown to newcomer Hansel (Owen Wilson). Meanwhile, a scheming designer, Mugatu (Will Ferrell), secretly brainwashes models to carry out assassinations for a shadowy fashion cabal, and recruits the down-on-his-luck Zoolander to kill Malaysia's prime minister. A reporter, Matilda (Christine Taylor), starts digging into the plot. Eventually, Zoolander and Hansel team up to stop Mugatu, fighting through Derek's brainwashing in a final runway showdown to save the day.
Did You Know:
Owen Wilson was Stiller's first choice for the role of Hansel, but it was uncertain if he would be available and auditions were held. Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role. Andy Dick was going to play Mugatu, but was unavailable due to a previous commitment to the TV show Go Fish. Stiller had originally intended to play Derek's agent Maury as well, but was already set to play the lead role and direct the film, leading him to cast his father Jerry Stiller as Maury instead.
Derek's repetition of the line "But why male models?" for the second time, in the cemetery scene, was an ad-lib by the actors; Ben Stiller forgot his line and simply repeated the earlier line again, and David Duchovny ran with it and gave him a straight answer.
Derek Zoolander's "Blue Steel" look evolved from Christine Taylor ribbing her husband, Ben Stiller, about the way he combs his hair in front of a mirror.
Ben Stiller wrote David Bowie's scene as judge of the walk-off into the script without knowing for sure whether he would agree to it.
The part of Mugatu was originally written for Andy Dick, who couldn't play it due to commitments to Go Fish (2001). Instead, Dick was cast in the smaller role of Olga the masseuse.
Best Performance: Ben Stiller (Zoolander)
Best Secondary Performance: Christine Taylor (Matilda)/Owen Wilson (Hansel)/Will Ferrell (Mugatu)
Most Charismatic Award: Will Ferrell (Mugatu)/Jerry Stiller (Ballstein)
Best Scene:
Male Model of the Year
Orange Mocha Frappuccino
Derek Zoolander Center
Walk Off
Hansel's
Relax
Favorite Scene: Orange Mocha Frappuccino
Most Indelible Moment: Relax
In Memorium:
N/A
Best Lines/Funniest Lines:
Derek Zoolander: Rufus, Brint, and Meekus were like brothers to me. And when I say brother, I don't mean, like, an actual brother, but I mean it like the way black people use it. Which is more meaningful I think.
Derek Zoolander: What is this? A center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read... if they can't even fit inside the building?
Mugatu: Derek, this is just a small...
Derek Zoolander: I don't wanna hear your excuses! The building has to be at least... three times bigger than this!
Derek Zoolander: If there is anything that this horrible tragedy can teach us, it's that a male model's life is a precious, precious commodity. Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn't mean that we too can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident.
Matilda: I became...
Hansel: What?
Matilda: Bulimic.
Derek Zoolander: You can read minds?
Derek Zoolander: I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.
Mugatu: [hypnotizing Derek] Hi Derek! My name's Little Cletus and I'm here to tell you a few things about child labor laws, ok? They're silly and outdated. Why back in the 30s, children as young as five could work as they pleased; from textile factories to iron smelts. Yippee! Hurray!
Derek Zoolander: There was a moment last night, when she was sandwiched between the two Finnish dwarves and the Maori tribesmen, where I thought, "Wow, I could really spend the rest of my life with this woman".
Larry Zoolander: I just thank the Lord she didn't live to see her son as a mermaid.
Derek Zoolander: Mer-man!
[high-pitched cough]
Derek Zoolander: Mer-man!
Mugatu: You can help these children...by killing the Prime Minister of Malaysia!
Mugatu: SHUT UP! Enough already, Ballstein! Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look, for Christ's sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigra? They're the same face! Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! I invented the piano key necktie, I invented it! What have you done, Derek? You've done nothing! NOTHIIIING! And I will be a monkey's uncle if I let you ruin this for me, because if you can't get the job done, then I will! Die, you wage-hiking scum!
Derek Zoolander: I'm not an ambi-turner.
Derek Zoolander: But why male models?
J.P. Prewitt: Are you serious? I just told you that a moment ago.
Hansel: I guess you can dere-lick my balls cap-E-tan.
Derek Zoolander: I can Dere-lick my own balls, thank you very much.
Hansel: Don't ask questions, just give in to the power of the tea.
Derek Zoolander: Or are you here to tell me what a bad eugoogoolizer I am?
Matilda: A what?
Derek Zoolander: A eugoogoolizer... one who speaks at funerals.
[Matilda looks at Derek confused]
Derek Zoolander: Or did you think I was too stupid to know what a eugoogooly was?
Protestor: Mugatu! Screw you and your little dog too!
Derek Zoolander: Wait a minute. I might just have an idea. They'll be looking for us at Maury's right? But they won't be looking for... not us.
VH1 Reporter: Derek, are you worried about Hansel?
Derek Zoolander: Uhh, not as much as I'm worried about Gretel.
Derek Zoolander: How bout I answer your question with another question; how many abo-digitals do you see modelling?
Maury Ballstein: What do we do when we fall off the horse?
Derek Zoolander: [thoughtfully looking up and mouthing the words silently] ... fall off the horse...
Maury Ballstein: [looking to supply finish] ... we... get back on!
Derek Zoolander: Sorry, Maury. I'm not a gymnast.
Maury Ballstein: Mugatu is so hot right now he could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings.
Hansel: You is talking loco and I like it!
Mugatu: Todd! Are you not aware that I get farty and bloated with a foamy latte?
Derek Zoolander: You think that you're too cool for school, but I have a newsflash for you Walter Cronkite... you aren't.
Derek Zoolander: Do you understand that the world does not revolve around you and your do whatever it takes, ruin as many people's lives, so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long so you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?
Maury Ballstein: I've got a prostate the size of a honeydew and a head full of bad memories.
Mugatu: Let me show you Derelicte. It is a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique.
Mugatu: Obey my dog!
Derek Zoolander: Look, I gotta go pee, but I'd really like to continue talking about this conversation when I come back.
Billy Zane: Hey, Derek, back on top, man.
Derek Zoolander: Thanks, Billy. You rock.
Billy Zane: No, you rock. When you gonna drop Magnum on us, buddy?
Derek Zoolander: Not yet. You gotta tame the beast before you let it out of its cage.
Maury Ballstein: For Christ's sake it's a casserole Sheila... it'll stay!
Matilda: Derek that was unbelievable!
Derek Zoolander: I know! I turned left!
Matilda: Yeah, that too, but Derek, you saved the prime minister of Malaysia!
Derek Zoolander: Oh, right, cool.
Hansel: Mugatu's a dick. He tried to brainwash Derek to kill the Claymation dude.
Mugatu: Do as you are trained... AND KILL THE MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER!
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 6.67
Impact/Significance: 6.33
Novelty: 6.67
Classic-ness: 8
Rewatchability: 7.67
Audience Score: 7.25 (6.5 IMDB, 80% RT)
Total: 42.59
Remaining Questions:
If the gas station explosion is so big, why isn't Derek knocked down and how did they recover bodies to bury?
If all of Mugatu's models die in freak accidents, how did no one put that together before now?
How does JP Pruitt know that Maury Ballstein recorded his conversations?
How did Maury avoid criminal charges?
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