The ridiculously silly 'Zoolander 2' and the comedy sequel curse

"They're so hot right now"

Sequels in general are a dicey proposition. Comedy sequels are usually a disaster.

We go to see them because we're hoping to relive what we loved about the original and find ourself groaning at a pathetic retread with repeated punchlines that have lost their edge.

I'm not sure what we expect when going to see a comedy sequel. The success of a comedy in the first place has so much to do with timing and context, that it can't often be duplicated.

And I have literally never seen a comedy sequel funnier than its predecessor. Although they won't be going away anytime soon. In fact, I just saw a trailer for Neighbors 2, which looked pretty good.

The few that have worked for me -- Ghostbusters II, Anchorman 2 and Wayne's World 2 come to mind -- put some twists on previous routines and made great pains to tell a new story instead of retelling the first one. That said, all of those films have loud detractors and are widely viewed as letdowns.

Zoolander 2 isn't a letdown in my opinion. The original was a silly, unapologetically stupid spoof that no one really asked for. It was great fun. The fashion industry is vapid and detached from reality, and so deserving of ridicule, but original movie was never attempting to really say anything artistically.

The new Zoolander film has even less substance, if that's possible. But it revels in its ignorance in a way that I admired. I am sort of surprised its getting so savaged by critics. It's often hilarious and so self aware of its own idiocy that it doesn't collapse even when some of its gags do.

Kristen Wiig in Zoolander 2

Now, in all honesty, I viewed this film under the influence. So that might have colored my opinion, but I laughed a lot. Sure, it has way too many cameos. At times the look and style of this film reminded me of the bloated second and third Austin Powers films (again, flawed comedy sequels) where a lot of stuff is getting thrown at the screen in the hope that something sticks.

And the plot, if you can call it that, is tiresome and virtually meaningless. There are some gags that work quite well. Kristen Wiig gives a bizarre (heavily made up) performance as an almost incomprehensible designer. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson still have great chemistry and timing. SNL's Kyle Mooney does a brilliant riff on a kind of snide hipster fashionista.

And I thought the always stunning Penelope Cruz has fun with a pretty thankless role.

Will Ferrell shows up towards the end as Mugatu and is delightfully over the top. On several occasions his character calls out how stupid what is taking place is, and I think Stiller (who also directed) is knowingly acknowledging how disposable this whole endeavor is.

Sometimes I resent that. When a movie tries to own its own ineptitude. And there is something sort of vain and indulgent about the Zoolander movies, especially when it comes to the gratuitous celebrity cameos. But I came, I saw and I laughed.

Did Zoolander 2 need to exist? Does any comedy sequel? But for a throwaway Friday night experience at the movie theater, I'll take it.