If anyone can pull off being insanely stupid yet still cleverly funny and entertaining, it’s Ben Stiller. And that’s exactly what he does in “Zoolander.”

Stiller is in the driver seat as co-writer, director, producer and star of this flick, and he does it all pretty well. From beginning to end, the story has Stiller written all over it – with his quirky humor and quick-witted dialogue, the opportunities for laughter are pumped out non-stop. This is a good thing because you definitely won’t laugh at everything.

“Zoolander” finds Stiller as Derek Zoolander, male supermodel and world-class moron. Zoolander is chosen to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia, the man who may put an end to child labor in his country and ultimately cause the fall of the fashion industry.

As it is assumed in this movie and later explained by David Duchovny’s character, male supermodels make great assassins due to their top physical shape and knack for being brainwashed, so Zoolander is the perfect person for the job.

Along with dealing with that operation, which is run by Mugatu (Will Ferrell), the designer who once invented the piano necktie, Zoolander is being knocked off his throne as the king of male supermodels by a newcomer named Hansel (Owen Wilson).

One of the biggest challenges while watching this movie is keeping track of all the damn cameos, not to mention the cast itself which is stocked with a superstar list of thespians.

Stiller’s wife, Christine Taylor, is great as a Time magazine reporter and eventual Zoolander love interest. And Stiller’s father Jerry Stiller entertains as Zoolander’s manager.

Jon Voight and Vince Vaughn are Derek’s dad and brother respectively, Milla Jovovich joins Ferrell on the villain side of things and Andy Dick shows up as a few different characters.

Wilson and Stiller are great on screen together as foes turned friends, but Ferrell’s Mugatu character steals the show. Much like Nate Dogg is to the hip-hop world, it’s pretty much a given that if Ferrell makes an appearance, there will be success.

Though Zoolander and Hansel’s stupidity is reminiscent of Screech from “Saved by the Bell” at times, the majority of the thickness they exude is slyly written and forces out more laughs than a Leslie Nielsen movie.

Aspects of humor such as Stiller’s facial expressions and voice are pounded into you so much that by the end, you’re laughing. Perhaps it’s Zoolander’s eerie seriousness about himself that gets to be so funny.

The film’s spoofing of male models is done with great detail, right down to the comparisons of face models to hand models. The scene with Duchovny, a former hand model, is a nice touch to the story.

The plot is fairly strong considering the context of the movie, and it’s easier to laugh at a movie like this if there is some sort of a story structure to follow.

With a booming acting career under his belt and a handful of well-recognized directorial efforts which include “Reality Bites” and “The Cable Guy,” Stiller’s versatility is evident and powered by his comedic intelligence.

“Zoolander” is a light-hearted, secretly intelligent comedy meant for nothing more than to ultimately make people laugh. This has cult classic written all over it and should be a nice addition to Stiller’s already glowing r‚sum‚.

*** 1/2

Kyle Moss is a junior in journalism and mass communications from Urbandale. He, like Derek Zoolander, plans to be a male supermodel.