Zoolander - Blue Steelbook Edition

To say that 2001's "Zoolander" is the penultimate highlight of Ben Stiller's directing career is a somewhat dubious honor: the digs at vapid celebrity are obvious; most of the wardrobe looks like off-season fare from a discount costume shop; and the story-a cabal of high-fashion moguls plot to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister in order to maintain avenues of cheap labor-may be "inspired" by Bret Easton Ellis' "Glamorama". (An out-of-court settlement prohibits Ellis from commenting on this.) And yet, somehow, the phrase, "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills," is indelibly ingrained in the American zeitgeist.

How did a dopey spoof earn classic status? Well, when the jokes hit, they hit hard: The playful splash-fight at a gas station, featuring a criminally-young Alexander Skarsg�rd (a guaranteed double-take every time) and set to Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go," might be the contemporary gold-standard of satire, or slapstick, or both; and then there's Will Ferrell, whose mere mugging earns a laugh on every cut -- he would of course go on to rule the entire genre for the next decade.

This marks the first time "Zoolander" has appeared on Blu-ray, just in time for the holiday season. But despite the gift set trappings -- a sturdy Steelbook printed with a rotoscopic portrait of Zoolander's signature "Blue Steel" look -- there are few revelations. Ben Stiller and several writers provide the standard commentary track -- tired, begrudged-sounding, as if this is just another leg in an interminable press tour, which it undoubtedly is; and though Stiller's insight over the extra material add some context to the editing process (broad strokes about focus groups, mostly) the menu becomes slightly buggy when trying to select certain clips without it. Also included is rehearsal footage of the climactic break dance fight, which proves Justin Theroux surprisingly coordinated, but little else.

The Blu-ray quality makes the feature's colors pop, but the real draw here is the pretty package, a high-end stocking-stuffer. Embarrassingly, though, the set also comes garnished with a throwaway lagniappe, a replica Pucci headband embellished with a faux-Zoolander "coif". It's as gaudy as it sounds-and, by some sad irony, it's made in china, where cheap labor abounds.

"Zoolander"
Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set
$19.99
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