Between the incessant celebrity cameos, product placements, and our titular hero’s many reiterations of just how “really, really good-looking” he is, Zoolander (2001) could have been little more than the basis for a new drinking game. But director/co-writer/star Ben Stiller extends his VH-1 Fashion Awards sketches to feature length successfully, despite a few unflattering bulges and wrinkles (i.e. character development) in the telling of this tale about a male supermodel turned political assassin. Dimwitted Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and his peyote-munching sidekick, Hansel (Owen Wilson), actually achieve the unthinkable—admittedly, Zoolander’s forte—as they battle the nefarious forces of Mugler/Gaultier knock-off Mugatu (Will Ferrell): They elicit consistent laughs. Even with overlong gags and unnecessary subplots, the final outcome is still more entertaining than both Austin Powers flicks or Robert Altman’s dreadful ’94 fashion send-up Ready to Wear, although Zoolander clearly has its Blue Steel sights fixed on the former demographic. Note: This is a quote-along screening, not that the movie needs any help. (PG-13) KURT B. REIGHLEY

Fri., Nov. 26, 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 27, 9:30 p.m., 2010