Derek Zoolander (Stiller Jr) is the good-looking but dull-witted catwalk king who's having a crisis of confidence with the arrival of serious competition in the form of Hansel (Wilson). Then the evil designer Mugatu (Ferrell) brainwashes him to commit a political murder. And it's up to a gorgeous Time magazine reporter (Taylor) to sort out the mess ... and fall for Derek of course.

While not particularly well-directed, the film still looks fantastic and bristles with humour that keeps us laughing from start to finish. Stiller is hilarious as the always posing Derek, oblivious to the subtleties of the world around him and unable to comprehend even the simplest concepts. And surrounding him is a cast of classic comic performers that includes his parents (Stiller Sr and Meara, as Derek's agent and a very loud street protestor), as well as much of the New York glitterati. Most are playing themselves, but a few get to lampoon their images (notably Voight and Duchovny), while others do goofy pastiche roles (Ferrell, Jovovich) and others are virtually unrecognisable (Dick, Theroux).