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6[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zoolander_poster.jpeg]]
7[[caption-width-right:300:Derek Zoolander: Really Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking[[TradeSnark ™]] ]]
8-> ''"For the last decade, male modelling has been dominated by one name, and five syllables: Der! Ek! Zoo! Lan! DER!"''
9
10''Zoolander'' is a 2001 comedy film directed by and starring Creator/BenStiller, co-starring Creator/OwenWilson, Creator/WillFerrell, Creator/ChristineTaylor, Creator/MillaJovovich, Creator/JerryStiller, and Creator/JonVoight.
11
12[[CharacterTitle Derek Zoolander]] (Stiller) is a [[MemeticMutation really, really ridiculously good-looking]] male model, who also happens to be incredibly shallow and [[BrainlessBeauty not too bright]]. He suffers a professional and personal setback when he loses the Male Model of the Year crown to rookie Hansel [=McDonald=] ("he's so hot right now") and three of his friends to a [[TooDumbToLive freak gasoline fight accident]].
13
14His manager Maury Ballstein sends him to a week-long day spa, but it turns out to be a brainwashing center, where Derek becomes a sleeper agent programmed to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia, who is obstructing the fashion industry's use of cheap Malaysian sweatshop labor. It's up to Derek, his love interest Matilda Jeffries, and his rival-turned-friend Hansel ([[RunningGag "he's so hot right now"]]) to foil this plot and help Derek live past thirty.
15
16Generally considered to be the film that started "The Creator/FratPack", a loosely organized group of popular comedians who starred together in some of the more successful comedy films of the 2000s. Not only did it bring most of the core members together, it also established the unique blend of slapstick comedy, social satire and over-the-top characters that characterized their style of humor. The group had a rotating stable of unofficial members, but Stiller, Wilson, Ferrell and Creator/VinceVaughn (who has an uncredited [[TheCameo cameo]] as Derek's brother) were generally considered to be the essential ones. This was the first film where the four appeared together, but not the last.
17
18A sequel, ''Film/Zoolander2'', was released in 2016.
19
20[[SarcasmMode Not at all]] based on the 1998 novel ''{{Literature/Glamorama}}'' by Creator/BretEastonEllis.
21
22----
23!!This film has examples of:
24
25* TenMinuteRetirement: Derek announces his retirement at his friends’ funeral, but soon after reverses his decision [[KnowWhenToFoldEm after working for just one day in the coal mines]].
26* TheEighties: Though the movie takes place at the TurnOfTheMillennium, all of the [[{{Montage}} music montages]] feature songs from TheEighties.
27** A cover version of "Call Me" by Music/{{Blondie|band}} plays during the Opening Credits Montage, which introduces all the main characters.
28** "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by [[Music/GeorgeMichael Wham!]] plays during the drive to the gas station and while the male models are drenching themselves in gasoline. [[MoodWhiplash It abruptly stops when Brint inadvertently blows up the gas station]].
29** "Working for the Weekend" by Music/{{Loverboy|Band}} plays during Derek’s parody HardWorkMontage in the coal mines.
30** "Relax" by Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood plays throughout Derek’s Hypnosis Montage and becomes his MusicalTrigger to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister.
31** "[[Music/{{Thriller}} Beat It]]" by Music/MichaelJackson plays during the Walk Off Montage. There’s also a quick line of Music/DavidBowie’s song "Let’s Dance" when Bowie appears to serve as the judge.
32** TheSeventies cameo: A cover version of "Love to Love You Baby" by Music/DonnaSummer (performed by Music/NoDoubt) plays during the [[SexMontage Orgy Montage]].
33* AdamWesting[=/=]AsHimself: A number of real-life celebrities make cameo appearances in the film. The one who plays the most on his image is probably Fabio, who appears at the beginning of the film, accepting the "slashie" award for "best actor-slash-model" and "not the other way around". Fabio-esque male models are the main brunt on the film's satire.
34* AdaptationExpansion: Justified, in that the original Derek Zoolander skits make up a combined six-and-a-half minutes. The movie takes the character of Derek and puts him in at the center of a political {{conspiracy theor|ist}}y story.
35* Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra: Part of a ShoutOut to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
36* ActorAllusion:
37** Creator/JonVoight as Derek's father.
38--->''"Damn it, Derek, [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder I'm a coal miner, not a professional film or television actor]]."''
39** Creator/DavidDuchovny as a conspiracy theorist, alluding to his famous role of Fox Mulder on ''Series/TheXFiles''.
40** Actor-slash-model Creator/JamesMarsden plays John Wilkes Booth, the original "model-slash-actor".
41* AnswerCut: When Mugatu is told in the opening scene that he needs to find someone dim enough to be brainwashed into the assassination plot:
42-->'''Mugatu''': But who?! Where in all of God's green goodness am I gonna find someone that....BEEF-HEADED?!\
43''(cut to Derek Zoolander photoshoot)''
44* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: After giving Derek a LongList of what he's supposed to do as an assassin, Mugatu adds: "Obey my dog!"
45* ArtisticLicenseGeography: PlayedForLaughs with the coal mines of South Jersey - the actual South Jersey is fairly flat and consists primarily of coastal plains and farmland.
46* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Although the film is set in the present day, it provides an alternate timeline for American history--in which every political assassination of the past 200 years was committed by a male fashion model. Just for laughs, it puts two guys behind the grassy knoll when most conspiracy theorists say there was only one.
47* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Katinka Inka Babovinanana's first and last name are Hungarian/Russian and Serbian, while Inka is a Nordic name. Appropriately enough, she has an Eastern European accent.
48* BabiesEverAfter: The ending. Derek's son even adopts his first look: a pout reminiscent of his father's.
49%%* BackhandedApology: The {{Jerkass}} version gets used twice.
50%%* TheBaroness: Katinka.
51* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The fashion industry has been behind every major assassination for the past 200 years, using male models as assassins, including the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
52* BerserkButton: The otherwise docile Derek is furious when Mugatu implies that all of his looks are identical.
53* BigBad: Mugatu is the main antagonist of the film.
54* BigDamnHeroes: During the finale of the film, [[spoiler:Hansel and Ballstein help snap Zoolander out of his trance to kill the Malaysian Prime Minister and stop Mugatu]].
55* BigNo: Derek yells "No!" in slow-motion when he realizes that Brint lighting a cigarette will destroy the gas station, killing all of his friends.
56* BrainlessBeauty: Male models (although according to David Duchovny's character, hand models "work differently"). Also, Fabio is apparently too smart for the job that Mugatu brainwashed Derek to do.
57* BrickJoke:
58** "Derek, you did it!" "I know, I turned left!"
59** During his acceptance of the slashie award early on, Fabio thanks the audience for considering him to be the best actor-slash-model, "and not the other way around". Later, J.B. Prewitt refers to John Wilkes Booth as "the original '''model-slash-actor".'''
60* BuffySpeak: The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.
61* TheCameo: Lots, from the celebrities at the fashion show in the opening part of the film to Creator/BillyZane's memetic role to Music/DavidBowie as the walkoff judge, and lots more where that came from. Also includes Creator/JamesMarsden in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot as John Wilkes Booth during the assassination exposition.
62* CaptainOblivious: Derek Zoolander, and to a somewhat lesser extent his rival Hansel. They're barely aware of anything that's going on, with Hansel's sizzle reel for the Fashion Awards even having him admit he has no idea what product he's shooting for that day.
63* CastingGag: Creator/DavidDuchovny known from ''Series/TheXFiles'' as a former hand model and ConspiracyTheorist.
64* CatapultNightmare: Derek wakes up from his brainwashing session by smashing his head into the top of his bunk bed, then rolling out onto the floor.
65* CerebusRetcon: In the original skit, Derek claimed that he couldn't turn left because he was left-handed and [[InsaneTrollLogic there were no left-handed runways]]. Here, he has an actual disability that prevents him from turning to his left.
66* CharacterCatchphrase: Mugatu's variations on Hansel being "so hot right now."
67* CharacterTitle: ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Derek Zoolander]].
68* ChekhovsGag: Derek's initial brainwashing from Mugatu involves cardboard cutouts of "beautiful celebrities," including [[Music/NSync Lance Bass,]] Music/LilKim, [[Music/LimpBizkit Fred Durst]], and..... [[spoiler:Garry Shandling. Sure enough, when it comes time for the assassination attempt, the celebrities lining the stage are all the celebrities from the former sequence. ''Including'' Garry Shandling.]]
69* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Magnum, and Hansel's yoyo skills.]]
70* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: [[RhymesOnADime Rhymes with "Derek Zoolander".]]
71* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Mugatu shows Derek a model for the "Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too," Derek thinks the model is the actual school and destroys it in a rage.
72-->'''Derek:''' What is ''this? ([[ScaleModelDestruction smashes the model on the floor]])'' A center for ''ants''?!\
73'''Mugatu:''' What?\
74'''Derek:''' How can we expect to teach children to learn how to read if they even fit inside the building?\
75'''Mugatu:''' Derek, it's just a small--\
76'''Derek:''' I don't wanna hear your excuses! The center has to be at least... three times bigger than this.
77** Also, this exchange at the film's climax.
78--->'''Matilda:''' Derek, you did it! That was amazing!\
79'''Derek:''' I know! I turned left!\
80'''Matilda:''' ''(beat)'' Yeah, that too, but Derek, you also saved the Prime Minister of Malaysia!\
81'''Derek:''' Oh, right. Cool!
82* CompetenceZone: None of the male models lives past thirty (except the precious few who wise up and retire beforehand), something that TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness ruthlessly enforces.
83* ComputerEqualsMonitor: When told that files that could incriminate Mugatu are inside a computer, Derek and Hansel take the monitor and [[LiteralMinded smash it open to try and get at the files]], [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally destroying them.]] In this case, the trope is justified as the computer was an [=iMac=], where the monitor ''is'' the computer.
84* ConspiracyKitchenSink: According to J.P. Prewett, pretty much every assassination in history can be traced back to the international fashion industry.
85-->'''Matilda:''' Wait a minute, Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't a male model.\
86'''Prewett:''' You're goddamn right he wasn't, but those two lookers who capped Kennedy from the Grassy Knoll sure as shit were!
87* ConvectionSchmonvection: Derek is completely unharmed by the massive gasoline fire, despite being only a few feet away.
88* CookingDuel: The runway walk-off.
89* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The fashion industry executives.
90* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Derek and Hansel may be male models and dumb as rocks as a result, but Derek's looks can stop flying shurikens in mid-air and Hansel is a skilled breakdance fighter.
91* CymbalBangingMonkey: In a flashback, Derek is briefly shown dressed up as one, while an off-screen voice commands him to "dance, monkey, dance!"
92* DanceBattler: "They're breakdance fighting!", which refers to Hansel's fight with Mugatu's Disc Jockey in the climax.
93* DarkActionGirl: Katinka wears black and has black hair and also works for Mugatu as TheDragon. She's also capable of fighting with a gun.
94* DeadpanSnarker: J.P. Prewett, which comes with being played by Creator/DavidDuchovny.
95* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment:
96-->'''Hansel:''' "And I felt like this guy is really hurting me. And it hurt!"\
97'''Derek:''' Maybe you don't understand that the world doesn't revolve around you and your "Do whatever it takes, ruin as many people's lives, just so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose, or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose, or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?"
98* DirtyOldMan: Maury Ballstein, who seems to routinely give inappropriate contact on the women who work at his agency.
99* DisneyAcidSequence: The drug-fueled orgy, which involves two dwarfs, a monk, and lots of spinning.
100* DullSurprise: All of Derek's so-called "looks" are nigh-identical. (However, his "Magnum" look stops a shuriken in mid-air. Even Mugatu is wowed: "Dear god, it's beautiful!")
101** There is a difference between Magnum and all the rest: [[ChekhovsSkill he turns left]] before delivering it. Less [[BuffySpeak mindblowing-ly]], his head is also vertical, as opposed to the angle his other looks were at.
102*** Also the Sequel both Lampshades and Averts it, with a comparison on a computer showing that there are apparently loads of subtle differences in each look despite looking pretty much the same to the apparent untrained eye.
103* DumbassHasAPoint: Derek and Hansel, probably two of the dimmest bulbs in all of cinema, somehow manage to make truly poignant and insightful observations about what's going on, adding to some of the surprisingly subtle moments of the film's humor.
104** Derek catches on rather fast that Mathilda is not only trying to write a hatchet job article on him, but that she initially has it out for fashion models in general.
105* DumbBlonde: A male example with Hansel. He has blonde hair and isn't one of the brightest models in the film.
106* EmbarrassingAdGig: When Derek and some of his family members are in a bar, they see an Aveda commercial that shows Derek as a mermaid[[note]]Or a [[InsistentTerminology merMAN, as he says]][[/note]] making {{double entendre}}s involving being wet. Derek's father [[IHaveNoSon disowns him on the spot]].
107* EveryoneHasStandards: Derek may be dumb, but he knows that lighting a cigarette while covered in gasoline at a gas station is a bad idea, as his model friends found out the hard way.
108* FallingInLoveMontage: Parodied in the orgy scene, where Matilda begins by making out with Derek and Hansel, and then the partners get a little... weird.
109* FashionShow: The finale takes place at one (as an assassination is supposed to take place there), and the film has a few others.
110* FireForgedFriends: Derek and Hansel started as the worst of enemies but when things get ugly they become the best of friends.
111* FormerlyFat: Matilda was an overweight child in her youth before she developed bulimia and lost weight.
112* FreezeFrameIntroduction: Derek Zoolander, Hansel, and Mugatu all get freeze-frames with their names overlaid, when they arrive at the fashion award show at the beginning of the film. Much later, Music/DavidBowie gets a similar treatment for his OneSceneWonder appearance as the walk-off judge.
113* FreudianExcuse: Matilda was ridiculed and laughed at because of her being overweight as a child to the point that she developed bulimia. Since then, she believes models would hurt one's self-esteem.
114* GeniusDitz: Derek (and most everyone associated with the fashion industry) is a complete moron, but when it comes to fashion, make-up and just improving one's physical appearance he is a genius.
115** On a more tragic note, even ''he'' [[SmartBall isn't dumb enough]] [[OhCrap to not know what happens]] [[BigNo when you light a cigarette in the middle of a gasoline fight]].
116* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Mugatu's toy poodle; during the brainwashing sequence, its eyes flash bright green.
117* GreaterScopeVillain: The conglomerate of fashion moguls Mugatu answers to.
118* HardWorkMontage: Derek’s time in the coal mine is a parody, as Derek acts as though he expects the work to operate like a montage. He dresses accordingly.
119* HeroicBSOD: Derek when Hansel wins the Male Model of the Year and when his friends are killed in a freak gasoline fight accident.
120* HiddenDepths: Derek can speak Malay, [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels though not too well]].
121* HistoricalRapSheet: Brainwashed male models set in motion by an evil council of fashion designers have had a hand in every major assassination attempt, beginning with Lincoln and on up through JFK. ItMakesSenseInContext. Kind of.
122* HypocriticalHumor: J.P. Prewitt talks about how stupid other male models are compared to hand models, but makes several attempts to pick up a dropped flashlight with a hand encased in a hyperbaric chamber.
123* IResembleThatRemark: Prewett explains to Derek that male models are the perfect targets for brainwashing because they're stupid and gullible enough to accept anything:
124-->'''Derek:''' That is not true!\
125'''J.P. Prewett:''' Yes, it is, Derek.\
126'''Derek:''' Okay.
127* IdiotBall: PlayedForLaughs of course. Seriously, Derek and Hansel in particular are dumber than a bag of hammers. Though Hansel seems to have a few more IQ points than Derek, he's still as much of a ditz because he is way more spaced-out than Derek.
128* IdiotHero: Derek Zoolander, as outlined everywhere else on this page, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, frequently mispronouncing words, ComicallyMissingThePoint on multiple occasions, and generally getting some basic facts plain wrong.
129* IdiotSavant: Derek knows everything about the modeling world and is an expert in many modeling-related skills, even recognizing J.P. Prewett by his hand from a random 70s catalogue. Don't ask him to operate a computer, though.
130* InformedAttractiveness: Ben Stiller as a model? Owen Wilson?! Chalk it up to RuleOfFunny.
131* IntimateHealing: Parodied when Matilda mentions she's upset and hasn't had sex in years. She, Zoolander, and Hansel drink some drug laced tea and she [[GoodBadGirl has a drugged up gang bang with them and the others.]]
132* InsistentTerminology: “My son is a mermaid!” “Mer''man'', dad! MER-''MAN''!”
133* InnocentlyInsensitive: When Matilda tells Derek and Hansel about how she was bulimic, they react with excitement instead of horror. They even state, with complete sincerity, that it must be the reason she's so hot. Also, they do it too. Though they are completely ''understanding,'' they don't understand the problem.
134* IntrepidReporter: Matilda, who has a [[FreudianExcuse special hatred]] for models.
135* ItsAllAboutMe: At the start of the film, Derek is a self-absorbed but friendly model.
136* JanitorImpersonationInfiltration: Hansel and Derek disguise themselves as janitors to find Mugatu's files on his computer.
137* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Derek is incredibly self-absorbed, but he's also generally friendly with everyone he meets, and his jerk-ish moments come more from him being genuinely ignorant than actually malicious.
138* {{Joisey}}: At one point, Derek goes to work with his family in the coal mines of South Jersey. [[ArtisticLicenseGeography The real South Jersey is a coastal plain.]]
139* LameComeback: Derek to Hansel leading up to the walk-off challenge.
140-->'''Derek:''' You think that you're too cool for school, but I have a newsflash for you Walter Cronkite... you aren't.
141* LampshadeHanging: see OnlySaneMan below.
142* LaserGuidedTykebomb: Derek gets brainwashed into becoming a ManchurianAgent for Mugatu's plan to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister.
143* LiteralMinded: When Hansel confronts Mugatu at the end of the film, [[spoiler:he throws down the [=iMac=] which contains his files]].
144* LovableAlphaBitch: Zoolander is a rare male example: he's rather shallow, self-absorbed, and, above all, [[ProudBeauty vain]], but is still a good person.
145* LoveEpiphany: Parodied.
146-->'''Derek:''' There was a moment last night, when she was sandwiched between the two Finnish dwarfs and the Maori tribesmen, where I thought, "Wow, I could really spend the rest of my life with this woman."
147* MadArtist: A more fame-obsessed if still dangerously bonkers example with Mugatu.
148* {{Malaproper}}: Derek, of course.
149-->'''Derek:''' Or are you here to tell me what a bad eugoogolizer I am?\
150'''Matilda:''' A what?\
151'''Derek:''' A eugoogolizer... one who speaks at funerals. ''[after a confused look from Matilda]'' Or did you think I was too stupid to know what a eugoogoly was?
152* ManchurianAgent: After Derek undergoes Mugatu's brainwashing, the song "Relax" automatically causes him to follow his plans.
153* TheManInTheMirrorTalksBack:
154-->'''Derek:''' Who am I?\
155'''Derek's Reflection:''' I don't know.
156* ManipulativeBastard: Mugatu. He offered Derek the chance to participate in a runway show, brainwashing him to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia so they can maintain child labor in that country. In short, he attempts to make Derek's life miserable.
157* ManOnFire: Brint lights up a cigarette at a gas station causing the exposed gasoline to destroy the station and immolate Derek's model friends.
158* TheMasochismTango: In the foamy latte scene, it goes by as a quick series of glances exchanged between them, but Mugatu and Todd seem to have this going on.
159* MilkmanConspiracy: According to J.W. Prewitt, "the fashion industry has been behind every major political assassination over the last 200 years," including John Wilkes Booth ("the first actor/model") and [[WhoShotJFK "those lookers on the grassy knoll" who really shot John F. Kennedy]].
160* MissingMom: Derek's mom died long before the beginning of the film.
161* MisspellingOutLoud: Used by Derek to explain to Mathilda why he couldn't have been missing for a week:
162-->'''Derek:''' Uh, earth to Mathilda! I was at a day spa. Day. D-A-I-Y-E. Ok?
163* ModelingPoses: Derek has two poses as his signature moves (even though they are the same).
164* MoodWhiplash: Derek's model friends are having fun at the gas station to help cheer him up. Unfortunately for them, the mood shifts when they and the station are blown up by Brint's cigarette.
165* MrExposition: J.P. Prewett, the former hand model turned conspiracy theorist, who explains how the fashion industry is behind every political assassination in history.
166* MusicalisInterruptus: At the end of the film, Hansel [[spoiler:gets knocked down by Mugatu's disc jockey during their breakdance fight, but he unplugs the turntable playing "Relax" to stop the music]].
167* MusicalTrigger: The song "Relax" causes Derek's brainwashing to kick in, [[ManchurianAgent transforming him into a mindless assassin]]. This is due to the fact that BigBad Mugatu was ThePeteBest of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
168* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Matilda has one when she realizes that she was partially responsible for driving Derek into retirement.
169* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Derek's grasp of Malay leaves much to be desired. Though being "dumb as a stump," the fact that he [[GeniusDitz speaks Malay at all]] is pretty impressive.
170* NiceGuy: Derek, in a subversion of the typical bitchy-superstar stereotype, is actually sweet-natured and generous (if dimwitted).
171* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: While all of the celebrities cameos play themselves, Derek's surname is an amalgam of Calvin Klein models Mark Vanderloo and Johnny Zander (it was originally "Zanderloo," but Stein and the other writers found it too obvious).
172* NoodleIncident: How J.P. escaped from his brainwashing is not explained, outside of him claiming that hand models “work differently”.
173* NotSoAboveItAll:
174** Matilda is the OnlySaneMan in the main cast, until [[spoiler: she participates in an orgy.]] Even more so when she goes on a long description of her clothing while holding Katinka at gunpoint in retaliation for her insulting her fashion sense earlier.
175** Hell, even Mugatu, the only person who recognizes that Derek has exactly one look, follows up his MotiveRant by screaming about his piano key necktie as if it's some kind of grand accomplishment. [[spoiler:Even he is completely blown away by Magnum, even though it also is Derek making the same face but turning left.]]
176* ObsessedWithPerfectAttendance: Derek Zoolander has never, ever missed a modelling gig, which is how Mugatu manages to bait him into attending the ''Derelicte'' opening where he has been programmed to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister.
177* OhCrap:
178** Derek has a moment of horror when he realizes that his friends are about to get killed at the gas station.
179** The Malaysian Prime Minister reacts in shock when Derek is going to kill him.
180* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The round table [[TheManBehindTheMan running the fashion industry]].
181* TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou: ''"It's that damned Hansel! He's so hot right now!"''
182* OnlySaneMan: Part of Mugatu's MotiveRant, a rare case of this applying to the ''villain.''
183--> "Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigre? They're the ''same face''! Doesn't anyone notice this!? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"
184** Matilda also plays this role for the protagonists.
185** J.P. Prewett is the only model in the film who has basic intelligence, and is clearly exasperated by Derek's stupidity. (This apparently has to do with the fact that Prewett is a hand model.)
186--->'''Derek:''' ''(after J.P. explains the entire conspiracy with lengthy exposition)'' But why male models?\
187'''J.P.:''' ...you serious? ...I just...I just told you that, a moment ago.
188* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Moisture is the essence of wetness, indeed.
189-->'''Dad:''' You're dead to me. More dead than your dead mother. I just thank the Lord she didn't live to see her son as a mermaid!\
190'''Derek:''' Mer-MAN! ''(cough)'' MER-''MAN!''
191* OverlyLongGag: The participants during the orgy scene.
192** In a deleted scene, Derek enters the club where Hansel is having an afterparty, passing something like six or seven groups of people just to throw a lame one-liner back at Hansel for an earlier insult. (Part of this scene ends up in the ImagineSpot when the hand model discusses why male models make the perfect assassins.)
193* OutdatedOutfit: Mugatu's "Little Cletus" disguise is of what a child in the early 1900s would probably wear. Ironic, considering Mugatu should be keeping up with the latest fashions. Then again, he does seem to be the world's premiere fashion designer. If he can sell trash as fashion then he can get away with Little Cletus.
194%%* APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy
195* PerfectlyCromulentWord: Derek is not an ambiturner. He can't turn left.
196* ThePeteBest: Mugatu is this in-universe for Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood.
197* PhraseCatcher: Hansel. "He's so hot right now." In particular from Mugatu.
198* PretentiousPronunciation: Mugatu's new campaign, "Derelicte".
199* ProudBeauty: Zoolander can't seem to go five minutes without mentioning how great he looks.
200* PunctuatedForEmphasis: When introducing Derek as a nominee for Model of the Year, the announcer guy enunciates each syllable separately (see page quote). Each syllable also comes from a different speaker. Derek silently counts along to make sure that his name is indeed five syllables.
201* PutOnAPrisonBus: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Mugatu]] is last seen being tackled and arrested by the security guards.
202* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Maury Ballstein is competent at his job as a modeling agent and is willing to [[spoiler:help expose Mugatu's schemes]].
203* RedRightHand: Mugatu's disc jockey henchman has a scar over his blind eye.
204* RefugeInAudacity: Mugatu's new line that does a high fashion spin on what homeless people wear. Amusingly, it has been done for real by John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood, but the style was intended to be shocking.
205* RepeatedForEmphasis: Creator/BillyZane: "It's a walk-off! It's a walk-off."
206* RightHandCat: Mugatu's right-hand poodle, which looks almost as ridiculous as he does.
207* RunningGag: Every time someone mentions Hansel, Mugatu immediately adds some variation of "He's so hot right now."
208* SayMyName:
209** Derek yells "Brint!" when he lights up his cigarette and causes the gas station to explode.
210** Hansel shouts Derek's name when [[spoiler:he pulls his BigDamnHeroes moment to stop Mugatu's plan]].
211* ScaleModelDestruction: Mugatu shows off a model of a school he's planning to build in Derek Zoolander's honor. Derek gets ticked and destroys it, because he doesn't understand the concept of a model.
212-->'''Derek Zoolander:''' What is this, a center for ''ants''? How can the children learn anything if they can't fit in the building?!.
213* SeriousBusiness: The fashion industry, to the point of involving an international conspiracy like TheIlluminati, and political assassination.
214* ShaggyDogStory:
215-->'''Hansel:''' So I'm rappelling down Mount Vesuvius when suddenly I slip, and I start to fall. I mean, I'm about to ''die.'' Just falling, "Ahhh! Ahhh!" I'll never forget the terror. When suddenly I remember, "Holy shit, Hansel, haven't you been smoking Peyote for six straight days, and couldn't some of this maybe be in your mind?"\
216'''Derek:''' ...And?\
217'''Hansel:''' ...it was. I was totally fine. I've never even ''been'' to Mount Vesuvius.
218* SheCleansUpNicely: Matilda, again.
219* ShoutOut:
220** [[Music/MichaelJackson "Beat It"]] plays over the walk-off between Derek and Hansel
221** During the walk off, Hansel asks to "cut me" so he can see like Rocky did in ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' but instead of his skin, it's cutting his hair.
222** Derek's brainwashing sequence channels ''Film/AClockworkOrange''
223** Derek and Hansel imitate the "Dawn of Man" sequence in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', complete with the soundtrack playing ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra''
224** The confrontation between Derek and his manager before he walks for Mugatu refers to ''Film/TheGodfather Part II''.
225** Jon Voight seems to have based his performance as Derek's father on Creator/ChristopherWalken.
226** "I hate Hansel! [[Series/TheBradyBunch Everywhere I look, Hansel! Hansel! Hansel!]]"
227* SmartBall: Derek is smart enough to realize that fire and gasoline are a dangerous combination.
228** Ben Stiller is a notorious Trekkie, no wonder the villain is named after a monster of the week from "Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries"
229* SoundtrackDissonance: A minor case when Derek and his roommates try to forget their troubles, as "Wake Me up before You Go-Go" plays (it contains a reference to a yo-yo, which is rival Hansel's thing).
230** However, it plays again as a TriumphantReprise in [[EarnYourHappyEnding the ending]] with Derek having a family with Matilda, a friend in Hansel, and are all running "The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too", complete with a memorial dedicated to his roommates.
231* SpitTake: Hilariously overdone by Mugatu, who doesn't spit what he has in his mouth at Todd so much as turn and thrust forward to dump the entire hot latte on him.
232--> "Todd! Were you not aware that I get farty and bloated with a foamy latte?!"
233* StatusCellPhone: Exaggerated. The ''second'' wave of status phones in the 2000's were trending towards increasingly compact and portable flip-cases, so Derek's cell is an absurdly tiny, impractical little thing, smaller than a cigarette lighter, with an LCD display more suited to a beeper.
234* StupidGood: Putting it lightly, Derek isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. As shown how he thought a small model was the actual building for the "Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good". That being said, he isn't maliciously stupid and genuinely wants to help the illiterate and educate kids on how to develop the skills to be a model.
235* SuddenSoundtrackStop: About ten minutes into the film, Derek's best friends are trying to cheer him up with a trip to the gas station for drinks. The scene itself is very cheerful and Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" only makes the scene seem happier. The mood ends quickly and dramatically when the song fades out in a distorted fashion and all four of his friends die in a "freak gasoline fight accident."
236* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Matilda dryly says "Oh, no" when Hansel inadvertently destroys [[spoiler:Maury's [=iMac=] which contains his files]].
237* ThisIsWhatTheBuildingWillLookLike: Even if they can't fit inside the building.
238* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Only a male model has the skills to make a perfect assassin, and only Derek's "Magnum" look (or is it "Blue Steel"?) can stop them!
239* TooDumbToLive: Derek's model friends who at a gas station start spraying gasoline at each other and then, Brint lights up a cigarette. Even [[EveryoneHasStandards Derek recognizes this as a very stupid decision]] and tries to stop them, but is too late.
240* TooKinkyToTorture: Katinka only looks excited when pistol-whipped by Matilda.
241* TrainingMontage: Derek's training to be an assassin.
242* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Despite the movie hyping up David Bowie's appearance, Derek shrugs it off like he's no big deal.
243* VillainousBreakdown: Mugatu gets a pretty spectacular one at the end, during which he ends up [[LampshadeHanging pointing out that]] [[OnlySaneMan contrary to what everyone thinks, Derek's repertoire is somewhat limited]]:
244-->"'''[[BigShutUp SHUT UP!]]''' Enough already, Ballstein! Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look for Christ's sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigre? They're the ''same face!'' Doesn't anyone notice this?! ''[[OnlySaneMan I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!]]'' I invented the ''piano key necktie!'' I invented it! What have you done, Derek?! Nothing! ''You've got '''nothing! NOTHING!''''' And I will be a monkey's uncle if I have you ruin this for me! Because if you can't get the job done, then I will!"
245* WannabeLine: A deleted scene features a long sequence in which the titular character elbows his way through multiple lines and into progressively smaller and more exclusive VIP sections before finally reaching rival Hansel to deliver a zinger.
246* WeaksauceWeakness: Derek can't turn left (until the climax).
247* {{Wedgie}}: Derek Zoolander accidentally gives himself one during the walk-off, trying to replicate a trick where Hansel somehow pulled off his own underwear in one piece.
248* WellDoneSonGuy: Derek temporarily retires from modeling and tries to join his father and brothers in the mining trade. It doesn't go over well. When Derek reveals Magnum at the end of the film, however, his father is genuinely amazed and announces to the whole bar "That's my son!"
249* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
250** What happened to the shadowy evil council who have been killing world leaders for decades? All that's shown is Mugatu, so the fate of the others is unclear.
251** We never get to see what J.P. Prewett's fate was, either (in a deleted scene he became a teacher at Derek's school).
252%%* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway? "Magnum."
253* WhoShotJFK: According to the hand model, it's two male models on the grassy knoll.
254* WholePlotReference: The movie is largely inspired by ''Literature/TheManchurianCandidate.''
255* WorldOfHam: The world of male modeling is not for the subtle.

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