Ben Stiller Picks $56.7M Comedy Flop As His Most Misunderstood Movie By Critics

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Ben Stiller looking surprised as Derek Zoolander in Zoolander 2

Ben Stiller is one of the most notable comedic talents of his generation. He is known for his ability to shine in goofy films, such as The Night at the Museum, Dodgeball, or Meet the Parents. The comedian is also known for his work in front of and behind the camera. He made his directorial feature debut in 1994 with the romantic comedy Reality Bites, which was part of his claim to fame. After Reality Bites, Stiller directed other movies and TV episodes, including The Cable Guy and Tropic Thunder.

Stiller's comedies have also gotten sequels fairly often. Meet the Parents, for example, was followed up by Meet the Fockers, which then became a trilogy with the 2010 film Little Fockers. It's now expected to have a fourth installment, with Stiller expected to return. Night at the Museum is also a comedy trilogy, beginning with the 2006 film and ending with Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in 2014. While some of these sequels have been successful, not all his movie sequels have been met with such positive reception.

Ben Stiller Thinks Zoolander 2 Is His Most Misunderstood Film

But He Has A Hard Time Decoding What Critics Like

Stiller maintained that Zoolander 2 is his most misunderstood movie. The 2016 PG-13 comedy is a follow-up to his R-rated 2001 comedy Zoolander. The sequel tanked at the box office, making $56.7 million on its estimated $50 million budget. Zoolander 2 was also panned by critics, leading to a 22% Tomatometer. The audience score was even lower than this, with a Popcornmeter of 20%. As a result, the comedy sequel remains one of the most panned movies in his career.

Ben Stiller in scenes from Dodgeball & Zoolander

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Speaking in a Hot Ones interview, Stiller cites Zoolander 2 as the one movie that is most understood after being asked which movie was most underappreciated or misunderstood by critics. He shared the important caveat, "it's very hard to analyze why critics like or don't like something." Nonetheless, he did cite Zoolander 2 as being his most misunderstood movie, saying, "it's like hard to think it was that bad." Check out the full quote from Stiller below:

I mean, look, it's very hard to analyze why critics like or don't like something. I'm always surprised when critics love something, and I'm always surprised when they hate something. Because it's so subjective. I mean, Zoolander 2, probably, I gotta say. I think it got kinda, you know. It's like hard to think it was that bad that people didn't like it that much. But maybe I'm wrong.

Our Take On Zoolander 2's Reception

The Movie Had Big Shoes To Fill

Derek (Ben Stiller) striking a pose in Zoolander

Given the MPA rating alone, it is safe to say that Zoolander 2 is a toned-down version of the first film that plays safer than the first. That said, Stiller was in a hard position when making the sequel. By the time Zoolander 2 was being made, the original movie had amassed a massive following. This made it such that Stiller had very big shoes to fill, so anything that was not up to par would be deemed insufficient for fans.

Zoolander 2 is available to watch on Prime Video and MGM+.

Source: First We Feast

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15 years after Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald became allies to take down Mugatu, the pair of fashion models are back. This time, Derek and Hansel discover a sinister conspiracy after traveling to Rome to rejoin the modeling world. Despite Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson returning for the sequel, Zoolander 2 was largely panned upon release in 2016.

Release Date February 12, 2016

Runtime 102 Minutes

Franchise(s) Zoolander

Writers Nicholas Stoller , John Hamburg , Ben Stiller , Justin Theroux

Budget $50 million

Studio(s) Paramount Pictures

Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures

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