Zoolander (2001) is a movie based on a pair of short films, produced and directed by Ben Stiller. The short films were successful enough to be aired on Saturday Night Live, which led Stiller to a one-year term on the show. The short films, and the movie, feature a male model with a below-average intelligence. The title role (Derek Zoolander) is played by Ben Stiller, and his agent is played by father Jerry Stiller. Other star actors include Will Ferrell (Mugatu) and Owen Wilson (Hansel).
In Zoolander, the supremacy of Derek Zoolander of master of the male-modeling world is challenged by the up-and-coming Hansel, an acid-tripping, Great Spirit-worshiping throwback from the '60s. When his best friends are killed in a "freak gasoline-fight accident," Derek announces that he is retiring from the male modeling profession. He returns to the coal mines where his father and brothers work, but soon finds himself desperately out of place.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Prime Minister of Malaysia is working on abolishing child labor in his country. The evil world-wide organization which is the fashion industry is determined to retain Malaysia as a major source of cheap labor, and is desperate to thwart the incumbent Prime Minister's election. Fashion mogul Mugatu is assigned to train a dull male model to become the assassin of the Prime Minister.
