Review: Envy (*)

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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