Ben Stiller on Zoolander 2's 'Blindsiding' Flop: 'Wow, I must have really f**ked this up'
Ben Stiller on Zoolander 2's 'Blindsiding' Flop: 'Wow, I must have really f**ked this up'
Ben Stiller has admitted that he felt "blindsided" by the commercial and critical failure of Zoolander 2, which arrived 15 years after its much-loved predecessor.
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I think Ben Stiller just completely missed the mark with Zoolander 2 and it's good that he realizes it. It happens, not everything's gonna land the way you thought it would. But people really need to just stop making sequels to comedies years if not decades after the originals. It rarely ever works because comedy changes over time. Some humor doesn't age well but more importantly some premises just don't work well outside of the era they were conceptualized in because they were a reflection of that period. There are some exceptions of course but I've been burned too many times by shitty - purposeless sequels.
Also, the original worked because it was a new idea, same as Anchorman. Take a profession, ratchet the stupid up to 11 and have fun with it.
The sequel doesnt have the same "fresh ground" to walk over.
Super Troopers 2 has the same problem. It essentially is the same movie so the good jokes don't hit hard since they're just more of the same, and the new jokes felt like they were just cut out of the first one for not being good enough.
I wish I could argue this point but I cant.
Super Troopers 2 at least felt like a fun revist though, probably because you know the Broken Lizard guys really are friends and it probably wasnt just a pay cheque for them. Even their more mediocre standalone films get a huge boost from that.
Yesss! Watch Tacoma FD on Netflix. The 30-minute episode format works fantastic for them!
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And this is why I'm skeptical about Deadpool &Wolverine. Deadpool 2 was good because even though Deadpool was great there was still plenty to make fun of in the superhero genre, but I'm not sure if there's enough fresh ground left for a 3rd one .
As long as Ryan Reynolds has free reign I'm gonna watch the hell out of it.
I can watch Deadpool 2 but I absolutely despise that kid. I mean, huge props to the actor because they did such a great job if I feel this strongly about him. But seriously, fuck that kid.
Watch hunt for the wilderpeople and then you won't hate him anymore 😂
They put all their good ideas into the first one. Club Dread was a dud. Literally got one laugh out of me, and it was an ADR gag about Jimmy friggin' Buffet.
The second Anchorman movie is almost as good as the first one imo.
I did not think so. It wasnt as bad as Zoolander 2, it had a few good moments but it felt more like "part 2" than a sequel... like it was a bunch of more of the same than anything bigger or better.
If you watch them back to back now it plays better than when it first came out.
That's just a rarity
I should probably stop hoping for Blazing Saddles 2
History of the World Part 2 was recently released as an 8-part series. I haven't watched it but reviews indicate it's not terrible.
It has its moments, though not nearly as memorable as the movie. It really helps to be a fan of Mel Brooks' style of humor.
Do we get to SEE, JEWS... IN SPAAACE?
Yes, they actually fulfill that decades-old promise.
EXCELLENT!
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy: part 42
Yeah that didn’t age very well.
You're not wrong. Imagine a movie being made nowadays that just dogs on backwoods hicks from start to finish.
I liked the first Zoolander movie and I’m surprised I didn’t even realize they made a second one. I may have to watch it just because it exists and maybe now that I have a super low expectation it will not be so bad.
It's as good as the fourth Matrix movie, or Dumb & Dumber Too.
Hey the first like, ~40 minutes of the fourth Matrix isn't that bad. It's just after the Wachowski's were finished making fun of the concept of lame milquetoast sequels trying desperately to do more of the same, they actually went and made one.
I did enjoy the Carrie-Anne Moss reveal that made her even hotter than in the original film.
After seeing Dumb & Dumber Too, I found Dumb & Dumberer to be a better sequel. I still quote Bob Saget from Dumberer; there's nothing worth repeating in Too.
Huh, I don't think I ever saw that.
It's legit bad, and not in a so-bad-it's-good way
The only good scene is one that they spoiled in the trailer… Mugatu getting out of prison.
This realization is why I hope Austin Powers 4 never happens.
For what it's worth, Zoolander still holds up, even if some of the jokes from that era will fly over people's heads.
Dere-lick my balls will always be great.
I can dere-lick my own balls, thank you very much.
I recall him saying a year or two back that he ultimately thinks it's a good thing it failed, too, because, if it'd done well, he probably wouldn't have gone onto do more serious things like Escape At Dannemora and Severance.
I agree in part, I think that making a sequel decades after the original IRL and story-wise and updating the ideas and humour to not be the same as in the original might be worth it. But that would require an actual new idea that somehow aligns with characters strong enough to make it reasonable to make a sequel and not a new IP.