Customer Reviews

Envy (Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

The funniest parts of this movie come in the first couple of scenes with Tim (Ben Stiller) and Nick (Jack Black)going to and from work. The dialogue between them just cracked me up about the tasting of each others pants and "Do you ever just watch your hand?" Funniest parts of the whole movie. Soon thereafter, I realized the engine that was to drive the comedy in this movie was centered around making poop disappear, I knew this film was in trouble.
After the age of 8 or 9 I didn't find anything about poop to be that funny anymore. Unfortunately with the screenwriter of this movie, that wasn't the case. I think the whole "Envy" story could've been easily driven by somthing else. There's funnier things out there than poop.
As far as the acting goes, Ben Stiller and Jack Black did all they could for this movie. Their preformances were fine, so no fault on thier part(except for the fact that they agreed to do this movie). Same goes for Christopher Walken.
To go along with this bad movie is a crappy (no pun intended) DVD. There's a scene index of Black's funniest moments in the movie. Who cares? I just watched it. If I really cared enough about it to see the funniest moments again, I'd torture myself by watching it again. There's also a photo gallery (we all know that's boring) and cast and crew bios. And some production notes. I would just rather them not have any special features so I don't have to waste my time.
In closing, this movie is just a result of a bad and ridiculous idea. Does Hollywood really think we'd find this funny?

I rented this movie one day without having known a single thing about the movie. I read no reviews and all I knew about the movie is who directed it. I like the director's films and the two people in it.

I personally enjoyed the movie and found it quite funny. Even laugh out loud funny. Yes, you read that right. I'm not an idiot and like all kinds of movies and am pretty picky. I have to admit I might have a weird sense of humour.

Anyway, this isn't much of a review. I saw the movie and liked it so much that I immediately rewatched it! That night I checked rotten tomatoes (Review site) and was shocked to find that the movie was totally rotten! I felt a little embarrassed that I liked the movie that much, but who cares!

All my friends hate the movie and think it's garbage. Probably 1/10 people would actually like the movie. Possibly. I just know that I loaned the movie to my mother and she loved it as well! No, we are not a family of idiots as you may be thinking! We also don't smoke drugs.

This is one of those movies I love that everyone else in the world seems to hate. I'm sure you'd had that happen before.

I read the bad reviews before going to see this movie. I refused to belive it when they said that there were no laughs to be found within the first half hour. They were right. The theatre I saw it in was stone cold silent for that time-seriously!! No one was laughing, not even me.

This goes to show how vastly underused the cast of this movie was, especially with solid actors like Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Christopher Walken, Rachel Weisz and SNL's Amy Poehler, who are all usually hilarious! That being said, Envy is a cute comedy that has some minor laughs and even a few good laughs. Unfortunately, the good laughs are a little too few and far between to make this a great movie. It is still watchable, though.

Also, in several scenes, the boom mikes are very plainly in view. I dont' just mean the tops either, I mean the entire mikes! Maybe the studio just didnt' care. We'll see if the DVD rectifies this.

Watch this movie if you must, but keep your expectations way low.

I'm a big fan of Ben Stiller and Jack Black- So I picked this DVD from many comedy choices because you can't go wrong with Ben AND Jack combo, right? right?? right???

Wow.. this movie blew me away...I was just sitting and watching while thinking about what I'm gonna eat for dinner...

I write reviews when I wanna tell people how great this video game or DVD is... But I'm writing today to warn you to skip this one; I don't know what it is, but Ben and Jack combo didn't workout.

IF YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR MONEY TO FRUSTRATE YOURSELF, THEN PLEASE GO AHEAD. OTHER THAN THAT...SKIP IT.

This movie was such a let down. Ben Stiller and Jack Black usually make me laugh. Not the case with this movie. At least not often. I wanted to like it, I really did.

The problems? A weak script, hardly any really funny scenes, and two actors who are used to working with much better material.

I'm not going to go into the plot, but I will say that the movie had potential and that movies like this inspire the average man to try his hand at screenwriting.

See ya next review.

I know so many people who did not like Envy. In fact, test audiences hated it so much, the film would have gone straight to video had it not been for the success of the totally overhyped School of Rock. But I enjoyed Envy. Granted, it wasn't Oscar material, but hey, I don't think Lord of the Rings was either. Moulin Rouge yes. Chicago definitely. But Envy is what it is, a cute, funny, enjoyable comedy with a great cast and a unique story. Perhaps that's why audiences were turned off. When's the last time anything unique was enjoyed by audiences? I think Envy is judged way too harshly and should be given a chance, especially for fans of Ben Stiller or Jack Black.This isn't their best movie, but it's a very fun one. Grade: B-

Envy is a flat-out hilarious movie. Ben Stiller and Jack Black play off of each other perfectly, and Christopher Walken is absolute comic genius - you'll be quoting his lines for days after you see this, I assure you. That is, if you *have* a sense of humor, which some people evidently don't.

The plot has already been detailed by several other reviewers - Jack Black gets rich from his Vapoorize invention, and Ben Stiller (his best friend and neighbor) drives himself crazy with envy, to the point where he loses his job, shoots Jack's prized horse Corky with a bow and arrow, and befriends The J-Man (Walken), which is a whole other kettle of fish.

The problem people seem to be having with this movie is that it doesn't fit into their perfect little definition of what a comedy should be - well, that's just too bad. Envy marches to the beat of its own quirky drummer, and if you lighten up and stop trying to analyze the movie critically, you'll enjoy it for what it is - a silly, simple comedy with likeable characters and instantly-memorizable dialogue.

Have Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Christopher Walken all appeared in "better" movies than this one? Sure, but that doesn't mean that this movie is bad. It's a shame that Envy has received such poor reviews, as I find it to be a feel-good movie that one can enjoy many times over, and as such it has become something of a classic in my group of friends.

The soundtrack is also excellent - completely odd songs which perfectly match the movie, including the marvelous use of the traditional "Happy Wanderer" song during the scene in which Stiller and Walken attempt to get rid of Corky's body.

If you're still unsure, go ahead and rent this. But I'm willing to bet that if you have a lighthearted sense of humor, you'll end up buying it anyway :) I highly recommend this movie.

I have read two true things on this review page: Christopher Walken was one of the only reasons I continued watching this film (although I admit Jack Black is all around just a funny guy), and most of the real, actual comedy is in the scene where the two leading men drive to work. Sadly, the rest of the film wasn't enjoyable at all.

One of the main problems I had was the scenario. Jack Black uses a crazy idea, Ben Stiller doesn't cash in, and practically overnight Jack Black is a millionaire while Ben Stiller is still a struggling middle-class father. But here's the thing: Jack Black's character shares his wealth with his friend, continually saying things along the lines of "You're my buddy!" Sure, he flaunts his wealth, but he never once treats his wealth as some kind of superiority. I couldn't understand why Ben Stiller could grow to hate him so much, let alone feel all that jealous. Whenever he flew into a rage I couldn't help but think, "Hey buddy, get a grip on yourself!" I don't know if it was envy so much as a psychological disorder.

My other problem is that this film really doesn't have a single theme or focus. The first third is the growing envy of Ben Stiller, the second third is Ben Stiller trying to hide the fact he killed Jack Black's horse, the final is Ben Stiller trying to handle the problem of Christopher Walken's character - so you heard it from me folks, as a warning, only the first third of this movie is the actual "envy." I have to also add the filmmaking felt totally incoherent - I had the impression there were five different directors working on the movie, each with their own style. That didn't help the already distorted storyline.

All in all, this movie drags itself out too long. By the time Ben Stiller and Jack Black make up in the middle of the film I wanted it to end, but instead it just drags itself on. I don't know, maybe the poop thing really did bring some chuckles to the screenwriters, but after an hour the audience gets the point. A lot of it was just plain predictable too - I mean, how many scenarios where someone feels guilty and tries to cover up what they do DOESN'T end in a kiss-and-make-up between the two characters?

I wouldn't suggest watching this. Or at least watch the first ten minutes, trust me, you're not missing much else after that.

If you like the comic antics of Ben Stiller and Jack Black, you'll find this to be a winning combination. When a friendship between neighbors and co-workers is tested after one of them becomes very wealthy, the hilarity begins. The invention that leads to Black's wealth is a bit silly, but inventive. In my opinion, this is a very enjoyable comedy with lots of laughs.
Chrissy K. McVay - Author

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the story of this comedy to make it work on screen, nor is there anything wrong with the cast and their performances, but there should definitely have been another director for this thing.
Nick (played by Jack Black) is a day-dreaming, absent-minded regular Joe who one day comes up with the idea of a product that will eliminate the work of poop-scooping. It's called "Va-poo-rize," comes in a spray-can and makes excrement disappear (sorry, certain four letter words just do not seem to do here.) Nick suggests for his neighbor Tim (played by Ben Stiller,) who naturally is skeptical towards the idea, to provide half of 4000 dollars to make the idea reality, and split the profit of the invention 50-50. Tim ridicules the idea and turns down the offer, but the product eventually becomes a hit. Soon Nick doesn't live in the house across the street - he lives in the castle across the street, and this makes Tim envious (hence the title of the film...wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)
A story this silly would work with the right director. Barry Levinston (60+ year old director of TV series such as "Oz," "The Beat," "The Jury" and of movies such as "Toys," "Rain Man" and "Good Morning, Vietnam") turned a manuscript (in which the story probably appeared funnier than it does on screen) into a peculiar puppet-show. His odd and off timing, lighting, camera angles, lack of close-up shots, choice of colors, acceptance of clothing and idea of suitable music (even make-up...) is odd and unstable, as are the directional qualities of the scenes. It doesn't look like a comedy. The contrasts between certain scenes are just too heavy. There should naturally be contrast between a "tragic" scene of a man burying a horse until dawn (with only a shovel) and a scene where Tim has to hide "The J-Man" (a bum played by Christopher Walken) in the bathroom upon a surprising visit from his wife, but the burying scene looks like something dark out of a Tarkovski film, while the latter mentioned scene features music similar to the action scenes of "Home Alone" or some Disney film.
Something that takes our minds off this weird environment, this CLOSET that the director has locked us in, is the uplifting performance of Christopher Walken who steals the scenes he plays in; the nuances of his performance (and his timing) are highly individual and on the spot - "GOOD for you, good FOR you..."
To sum up: this is a comedy with a good story and a good script. The actors performed their jobs well, and should be given more credit than they have gotten for these roles (Stiller and Black didn't just all of a sudden turn into lousy actors.) Had this film been directed and edited by someone else, then "Envy" might have been talked about in a much more positive tone.