A Review by Phil Calabro
2004, Dreamworks SKG, Dir. Barry Levison, Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler, Christopher Walken, Hector Elias
Envy is one of those movies that when I first see the preview, I get interested because of its loose style and unformal nature, along with great comedic stars like Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Not to mention when you're equipped with an Oscar-winning director, there's no way that this film could be bad. I proved myself wrong again, instead of being a splash of fresh water, it's a direct slap in the face, jumbling your senses that you won't be able to tell whether it's actually trying to be funny or not.
Our storyline is fairly simple. Tim (Stiller) and Nick (Black) are co-workers of different natures. While Tim is focused and realistic, Nick is a dreamer - until one day Nick starts toying around with a wildly stupid idea involving a spray disinfectant that dissolves dog dump - hence the name Vapoorizer. When Nick gets rich quick from the idea, and Tim doesn't, we watch as Tim's life spirals downward - losing his job, his wife, and his sanity. He ends up accidently killing Nick's horse in a drunken rage, and it's up to him and an insane bum named the J-Man (Walken) to figure out how they're gonna fix this up.
Ok, I didn't really explain the entire storyline, but there's a reason. The beginning starts out as being quite promising, but then it gradiently become worse by the minute. The plots becomes so entangled in the middle, it's practically impossible to decipher what it was trying to say in the end. It shocks me that Levinson just lets the film go haywire - for a man who has a record for keeping films on a direct path with clarity and grace - which made Rain Man a good movie.
The acting is just pitiful. Ben Stiller's character is whiny, high-pitched, and really really annoying. I sat through every single one of his scenes assuming he'd put a little more spice into it - yet he stays on a continuously annoying track. Jack Black's character is the same one he plays in every single one of his movies - loud, obnxious, and annoying. He believes that his goofy nature is eventually gonna manage a few laughs, when I'm sitting here crying my eyes out looking at this trash.
The problem with Envy is that it isn't funny. It's a pathetic attempt at satirizing the corporate lifestyle and the rich, and it doesn't really seem to have a target. It employs bad jokes that edge Farrelly Brothers, bad acting, and bad writing to make this one a gigantic floater. And I'm gonna have to Vapoorize this one.
0/4 stars
