10 years later, Zoolander 2 is a reminder why comedies need to start from scratch

On David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast in 2024, Ben Stiller admitted he went intoZoolander 2 thinking “everybody wanted this.” So when the movie flopped, it rattled him to his ridiculously good-looking core. The high-energy performer behind 2000s comedy classics like Dodgeball, Meet the Parents, Tropic Thunder, and the original Zoolander suddenly wondered if he’d lost his sense of what was funny. It’s a doubt that’s clearly stuck with Stiller as he’s transitioned into a new era of his career as the director behind critically acclaimed dramatic series like Escape at Dannemora and Severance.