Zoolander 2: Absolute Fashion Corrupts Absolutely

If the original Zoolander was an all-over, full-body giggle at the expense of fashion, Zoolander 2 is more of a “tee-hee” most of the time. The movie’s dozens of cameos overwhelm the barely existent “plot.” Some of them are great: Kiefer Sutherland and Jourdan Dunn, both members of Hansel’s orgy/family, Bieber as a parkour maven, and Billy Zane as an evil version of himself (a nod to the first movie). But overall, the fashion cameos feel too orchestrated by Anna and come off as names to check off a list rather than inspired choices. Vogue favorite Karlie Kloss appears as “Eve” in the Garden of Eden and Naomi Campbell as a goddess in a fashion-ad-parody — both missed opportunities to push the jokes further into the realm of critiquing beauty standards, the way the original Zoolander would have. And Stiller’s and Wilson’s performances feel more constrained and self-conscious than before, maybe due to proximity to actual runways this time around. Read more at The Cut.