Zoolander 2

Cameo-tastic. Disappointing. Perplexing.

Explanations below:

Cameo-tastic: I know I know, this is not a real word. Still I was struggling to think of a word that would really showcase one horribly apparent aspect of Zoolander 2. Every other scene some celebrity is thrown in, either as a brand new character or as themselves. At first this is a pretty amusing trait, but after an hour of cameo's it becomes a boring shtick. That's not to say all of the cameo's are poorly done. There are quite a few that really aroused a grin from me, but there in lies Zoolander 2's real issue...

Disappointing: Zoolander 2 isn't a bad comedy. It's got a decent pace, never takes itself seriously, and faithfully recreates older versions of the first movies characters. That being said I feel like the writers either wrote a script that was far too "meta" or I'm overthinking a dumb comedy. I found myself a half-hour in, wondering if this movie was a statement more on how ridiculous the current hipster trend is. I mean so many of the jokes seemed to not only bring about a sly grin (but not a laugh, it really just wasn't THAT funny), but to also bring me a bit of depression at the current state of affairs current popular society is in. The old movie was an amusing comedy poking fun at an industry that didn't seem to grasp how ridiculous it was. This sequel is just a depressing realization that it's likely only going to get worse.

Perplexing: I liked Zoolander 2. I found it amusing, and a short diversion. Somehow though, I can't recommend it. I think it's got a really potent underlying view on the current fashion trends and popular social fads. Still it's a sequel to a comedy that was ultimately a good time, and so now even if Zoolander 2 is trying to have an underlying theme it just feels out of place. There's an enjoyable time waster of a movie here, but I just feel like it really lets it's predecessor down.