In New York City, the self-absorbed and dim-witted but good-natured Derek Zoolander is ousted as the top male fashion model by the rising star Hansel, and his reputation is further tarnished by a critical article from journalist Matilda Jeffries. After his three roommates and colleagues are killed in a "freak gasoline-fight accident", Derek announces his retirement from modeling. He goes to his native southern New Jersey to attempt to reconnect with his working class father Larry and brothers Luke and Scrappy by helping them in the coal mines. Derek's delicate methods make him an impractical miner, and his family rejects him.