Zoolander No. 2

It's all about the cameos here—the brief, self-parodying celebrity appearances that pepper and spice Ben Stiller's sequel to his 2001 cult comedy about the fashion industry, which focused on vain, vacuous male models. After the tragic death of his wife (Christine Taylor) in the wreckage of the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too, male model Derek (Stiller) lost custody of his young son and went into hiding in “extreme Northern New Jersey.” Across the country in the wild sand dunes of Malibu, his frenemy Hansel (Owen Wilson) is having fatherhood issues with members of the motley “family” he moved in with after an extended orgy. So when Billy Zane invites them to put on a show in Rome, hosted by fashionista Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig), the dynamic duo not only reluctantly reunite on the catwalk but also embark on a dangerous mission with the fashion police's Interpol Agent Valentina Valencia (Penelope Cruz). As Derek reconnects with his now-teenage son, Derek Jr. (Cyrus Arnold), Valentina is determined to discover why pop music stars, including Justin Bieber, are being murdered. Adding to the mischievous conspiracy muddle, there's an imbecilic reappearance of diabolical, megalomaniacal Mugatu (Will Ferrell), and a search for the secret bloodline leading to the Fountain of Youth. Working from a silly, skit-like script cobbled together by Justin Theroux (who appears as Evil DJ), Nicholas Stoller, John Hamburg, and Stiller, this sprawling mess of a film is optional. [Note: Blu-ray extras include production segments on “The Zoolander Legacy” (9 min.), “Drake Sather: The Man Who Created Zoolander” (9 min.) and “Go Big or Go Rome” (8 min.), as well as the “Youth Milk Beauty Ad” spoof (2 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing sequel.] (S. Granger)