The surprise Parisian runway return of Ben Stiller's Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson's Hansel on Tuesday heralded not only a new "Zoolander" flick: It also marked a sequel of sorts to Will Ferrell's "Anchorman."
Ferrell undertook a similar exercise in unexpected hilarity three years ago this month when he donned the legendary Ron Burgundy's leisure suit and grabbed his jazz flute, tooting the news of an "Anchorman" follow-up on "Conan." That kicked off a series of unexpected in-character appearances leading to the comedy's late 2013 debut.
The "Anchorman" effort offers a model for smart meta campaigns for the revival of cult comedies featuring clueless characters. But, as we learned from “Zoolander,” playing with gasoline and fire – even in the name of fun – can sometimes blow up in your face.
Still, there’s reason for hopes of success for Stiller and Co.: "Zoolander" and "Anchorman" might sport different fashion sensibilities, but they're cut from the same comic cloth.
Both films arrived in the early 2000s to spread cinematic silliness, tackling highly spoof-able industries through self-obsessed buffoons and goofy plots. Both proved only moderately successful in theaters ("Zoolander" pulled in $45 million domestically in 2001, while "Anchorman" made $85 million in 2004), but earned strong followings through TV showings. Both brimmed with memorable scenes that invited repeated viewings – including Stiller's cameo as a gang-fighting rival newsman in "Anchorman" and Ferrell's demonic turn as wild-haired Bond-like villain Mugatu in "Zoolander."
While hawking his sequel, Ferrell turned up seemingly everywhere, from a car commercial to real newscasts, in the weeks before "Anchorman 2" opened – a spree that might partially explain the film’s $127 million domestic take.
One risk with the mega-publicity approach, especially this far out (the "Zoolander" sequel is at least a year away), is not being able to live up to high expectations for the next chapter in a 15-year-old story. The promotional efforts of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, in character and otherwise, for last year’s sequel to 1994's "Dumb and Dumber" didn’t quite kick the Mutt Cuts van into high gear, even if the movie did okay at the box office.
Stiller turned up again as Derek Zoolander after his and Wilson’s appearance at the Valentino fashion show, wielding a selfie stick – not giving in to a model’s biggest fear (besides aging): overexposure. Stiller and Wilson are off to strong start in their Internet friendly effort to get us laughing before the movie unspools.
But it’s a long catwalk to theaters. Ron Burgundy – and the rest of us “Zoolander” fans – will be watching Derek and Hansel's every voguing move.
Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multimedia NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.
