Zoolander

Ben Stiller directs and stars in this satirical comedy that skewers the fashion industry with absurd glee. Derek Zoolander, a dim-witted male model with a signature look called "Blue Steel," finds his career threatened by the rise of rival model Hansel, played by Owen Wilson. When fashion mogul Mugatu (Will Ferrell) hatches a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia using Derek as a brainwashed pawn, the story spirals into a wild conspiracy. Christine Taylor plays Matilda Jeffries, a journalist who helps Derek unravel the scheme. Produced on a budget of $28 million, the film earned over $60 million at the box office, becoming a cult favorite. Its over-the-top humor and memorable characters have kept it relevant, even spawning a sequel in 2016.[edit]

Derek Zoolander has it all: three VH1 Male Model of the Year awards, an entourage of sycophants, and a face that can launch a thousand magazine covers. His life is a blur of photo shoots, runway shows, and vapid celebrity friendships. But when he loses the coveted award for the fourth year in a row to the rising star Hansel, Derek's world crumbles. Humiliated, he retreats to his working-class roots in New Jersey, where his father Larry runs a coal mine and openly mocks his son's career. Derek's father's disdain and the family's blue-collar values clash violently with Derek's glamorous but empty lifestyle.

Meanwhile, the powerful and eccentric fashion mogul Jacobim Mugatu sees an opportunity. Mugatu is secretly involved in a sinister plot: he wants to assassinate the newly elected Prime Minister of Malaysia, who plans to ban child labor in the country, which would devastate Mugatu's offshore manufacturing empire. To carry out the assassination, Mugatu needs a brainwashed patsy, someone famous, easily manipulated, and with a public platform. Derek Zoolander, now vulnerable and desperate for relevance, is the perfect target.

Mugatu lures Derek back into the fashion world with a promise of a comeback and a new, mysterious "Derelicte" clothing line. Derek, thrilled to be wanted again, agrees to a rigorous brainwashing regimen at Mugatu's compound. The brainwashing technique involves subliminal messages hidden in a repeating music video, a parody of "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, that will turn Derek into a mindless assassin.

Enter Matilda Jeffries, a tenacious Time magazine journalist investigating the fashion industry's dark underbelly. She becomes suspicious of Mugatu's sudden interest in Derek and begins to dig deeper. She teams up with Derek's former agent Maury Ballstein and the eccentric former model J.P. Prewitt, who reveals that Mugatu has used brainwashed models for assassinations before. Prewitt himself was once a model who escaped Mugatu's control.

As the plot thickens, Derek begins to realize he is being used. He struggles to break free from the brainwashing while also trying to win back Matilda's affection and prove his worth to his family. The story builds toward the climactic Fashion Awards show in New York City, where Mugatu plans to have Derek kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia during a live broadcast. Derek must choose between his shallow pursuit of fame and his newfound desire to be a hero.[edit]