Comedy fans in the UK are about to be dealt a big blow, as one of the best noughties comedy movies is about to leave not one but two streaming services.
Zoolander is set to leave Prime Video on Tuesday, January 21 and Netflix on Wednesday, January 22, so people who want to watch this 2001 cult classic will need to act fast.
Not in the UK? Scroll down to find out how to watch the movie.
Despite its middling Rotten Tomatoes score and reviews, and only being a modest box office success, Zoolander is a hugely popular movie amongst viewers of a certain age (ie, millennials).
Starring Ben Stiller alongside Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, David Duchovny, Jon Voigh and Vince Vaughn, Zoolander is about the world's best top male model: Derek Zoolander (Stiller). When he's supplanted from his top spot and goes to work as with his family a miner, he's given a surprise second change at stardom, but it involves becoming complicit in a plot to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister.
As you can tell from that plot synopsis, it's a silly movie, and it's played as a farical satire of the fashion industry and models. Each character is vapid or dim in their own way, leading to a slew of memorable quotes that have cemeted the movie as a beloved classic ("Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn't mean that we too can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident").
Not only did Stiller star in Zoolander but he also directed and co-wrote it, with the movie remaining a staple of his early-noughties run of beloved comedies that also includes Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum and Tropic Thunder. Nowadays Stiller is more prevalant as a producer and director, recently having executive produced and directed episodes for Apple TV Plus' hit sci-fi series Severance.
Also leaving Prime Video and Netflix on the same day is the sequel, Zoolander 2, which was released 15 years after the original movie. It brings back lots of the key cast and introduces more as it tells the story of Zoolander being lured back into modelling while models are being assassinated, all while he has to reconnect with his estranged son.
Zoolander 2 is not as well respected as its predecessor, sitting at just 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it wasn't a commercial success either. It also sparked controversy due to the depiction of a non-binary model, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, which was seen as offensive to transgender people. Cumberbatch has since stated that he wouldn't take the role if it were offered to him nowadays (as of 2022).
That is all to say, you don't need to watch Zoolander 2; stick to the original movie and if you want to see more Derek Zoolander action, just watch the first movie again.
We don't know where Zoolander will land when it's removed; it was distributed by Paramount Pictures so it could land on Paramount Plus but that's not confirmed. If you live in the US, Zoolander is also on Paramount Plus and it shows no signs of leaving.
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