As a big fan of the original with respect for many of these filmmakers, Zoolander 2 was one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. I think with the sudden trend of sequels to classic comedies like Joe Dirt and Anchorman, as well as Ben Stiller's desire to be relevant again, he decided to make something guaranteed to make some money in the box office. But it is clear that they approached the project with no artistic integrity. It was well into the second act that I realized I had not laughed at a single joke. Clearly there is a format for the Zoolander comedy type in which silly phrases are repeated, people misunderstand one another, and characters make connections through absurd or ironic interactions. And there were a few times where the dialogue was witty, but almost every gag was a direct reference to the first film or a pop-culture reference. The pop culture references fell flat on every attempt, and direct allusions to the original are in my opinion a cop out in order to avoid writing an actually funny film. I must admit the last 40 minutes or so upped the ante a bit, but I still couldn't see any reason to make this film. Subplots about both models becoming fathers, the side characters in the fashion world, and the overly dramatic production/soundtrack, all fell flat as well. I was really hoping that this film would have something to it, but sadly it was just another pointless homage to a classic film which the world could have done without. A silly sequel a few years after is kind of worthy of forgiveness, but 15 years later is embarrassing. These filmmakers are capable of much, much more.
