10 Ways Zoolander 2 Is Everything That’s Wrong With Hollywood
6. Cameos Replacing Good Writing
Cameos are a powerful currency in Hollywood at the moment, to such a degree that bona fide writing genius Edgar Wright ended up losing the Ant-Man job because Marvel Studios wanted Anthony Mackie to make a special guest appearance halfway through the film and Wright didnt. Zoolander 2 takes this Hollywood trend to miserable new levels. It feels the need to squeeze in cameos left and right, rather than filling the time with jokes. The original film had a few great celebrity appearances, but theyre absolutely everywhere in Zoolander 2 to the extent that they just become an annoying distraction from the film itself. Justin Biebers extended opening scene cameo is bad enough (even if it can be forgiven slightly, on the grounds that it enabled the entire plot), but it gets far worse from there. Katy Perry and Neil deGrasse Tyson share a scene at one stage, despite the fact that they blatantly werent even in a room together once. The same feeling recurs at the end, when loads of big names from the fashion world all appear but are never framed in a shot together. Theres no point having this many cameos if the people arent going to interact or do anything interesting (Anchorman 2s news team fight had the same problem).
