Zoolander (2001)Movies

Movies from Film Forum, 10/04/01One of my favorite songs is Sam Phillips' "Power World," which explores how easily the media warp our perception of things. The refrain declares, "Our ideas of perfect are so imperfect." This could have been the theme song to the new Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander, an outrageous, over-the-top spoof of the fashion industry and celebrity narcissism.Don't go looking for a plausible story; this one's as preposterous as they come. Derek Zoolander (Stiller) is supposedly the world's greatest male model. He's so empty-headed that he makes the guys in Dumb and Dumber look normal. Thus, he becomes the patsy for some wicked fashion moguls who brainwash him into an assassination ploy against the prime minister of Malaysia. But why would fashion moguls want to commit a political...