Envy (2004)

ENVY

A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  *

There are bad comedies whose only good jokes are in their trailers, but there are even worse films, such as ENVY, whose few jokes are only funny in their trailers. In the context of the movie, they fall as flat as the rest of the story.

ENVY, by director Barry Levinson, whose last strike-out was BANDITS, completely wastes a good cast, which includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz and Christopher Walken. We've all seen old movies with actors in minor roles who later became stars but who were still learning their craft back then, giving awkward and sometimes downright pathetic performances. Thanks to Levinson's misdirection, each of the aforementioned stars in ENVY delivers performances that are as lame as most actors' first endeavors.

Even the film's cinematography, by Tim Maurice-Jones, is singularly ugly, looking as washed out as an old print of an old TV movie.

The story, not that you should care, concerns "Vapoorizer," an invention by Nick Vanderpark (Black) to make dog poo instantly disappear. Nick and his wife Natalie (Amy Poehler) live across the street from Tim and Debbie Dingman (Stiller and Weisz). Once the product takes off -- Tim is offered half of the company early-on but turns it down -- the Vanderparks rebuild their small house, turning it into something that would put the Beverly Hillbillies' mansion to shame. Like a small theme park, Vanderland features many attractions, including a big carousel in the front yard.

The script by Steve Adams doesn't give the characters much funny to say or do. The movie's one big joke involves Stiller accidentally killing a horse. We've seen this before and recently. The last movie to use this joke (STARSKY AND HUTCH) didn't think it was so funny that they could make it the centerpiece of their plot.

It may come as no surprise that this picture, which was originally advertised as opening in the summer of 2003, has had a slew of release date changes. Our audience voted with their relative silence that this is a film which should have gone straight to video, where it could and should be completely ignored. Instead, many viewers are going to buy tickets, thinking "Ben Stiller and Jack Black -- I can't go wrong with them." These consumers are going to be very upset. "Vapoorize this movie!" is what they'll be thinking when they leave.

ENVY runs 1:39. It is rated PG-13 for "language and sexual/crude humor" and would be acceptable for kids around 11 and up.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, April 30, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC and the Century theaters.

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