Envy
Originally written for The Milpitas Post
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler, Christopher Walken
Rated: PG-13 for language and sexual/crude humor.
Parental Notes: Teens will probably find this somewhat over-the-top tale of the infamous emotion and its effects amusing. It’s a bit raunchy for younger kids, but not terribly so.
Anyone who isn’t a veritable saint has felt envy, that nasty little emotion that festers away at your core, turns friends into figures of obsessive hate and sensible people into star-worshipping maniacs. “Envy,” the story of two ordinary guys and the effects of one’s wildly successful invention on their friendship, is an off-kilter comedy that manages to be a study of the effects of envy at the same time.
Tim (Ben Stiller) and Nick (Jack Black) are neighbors. They live across the street from each other in a suburb, carpool to their jobs at a 3M factory, and are best friends. Nick is constantly coming up with bizarre inventions which he never completes… until “VaPOOrize,” a spray that makes pet droppings (or any kind of droppings, apparently) disappear.
18 months later, Nick is immensely wealthy while Tim’s marriage is falling apart. His wife Debbie (Rachel Weisz) is resentful that he didn’t go in with Nick on the invention when it was in the experimental phase. His kids whine that they want the fantastic things Nick’s family has. To make it worse, Nick has refused to leave the neighborhood and built his mansion right where his old house was – across the street from Tim’s. Tim has no escape from his friend’s success, it’s constantly on view for him.
Tim is consumed with envy, and when he blows up at his boss and looses his job he decides to spend his days in a local bar rather than tell Debbie he’s been fired. At the bar he meets the J-man (Christopher Walken), a thoroughly odd individual with all kinds of ideas for Tim to get back at Nick.
Drunkenness and envy don’t go well together, and when Tim accidentally kills Nick’s horse (although given the amount of sublimating Tim is doing, it’s questionable whether it’s accidental or not) things only get more complicated. Add to this the campaign of Natalie (Amy Poehler), Nick’s wife, for State Congress and hints from protesters that there’s something dangerous in VaPOOrize, and both Tim and Nick have problems to deal with.
Stiller and Black have surprisingly good chemistry together. Stiller is doing his “uptight Everyman” shtick while Black is in full-blown “immature dreamer with a heart of gold” mode, and for the most part it works. Stiller manages to steer away from the abject humiliation comedy of his recent work and deliver one of his trademark smoldering-with-repressed-emotion performances. Black is a wonderful comic and attacks his part with zeal, making Nick the kind of sweet guy you want to hate but just can’t.
For most of the film, the script’s insanity and the excellent performances sweep the audience along for the ride. There are niggling problems (what happened to the crazy old guy who helped Nick invent VaPOOrize?) but if you’re willing to sit back and go along with this modern day morality tale it’s a lot of fun.
“Envy” doesn’t gel perfectly but is entertaining if you don’t mind overlooking the occasional flaw. It’s certainly much better than many of Stiller’s recent offerings (“Duplex,” “Along Came Polly”) as far as this humble reviewer is concerned. Senses of humor may vary, but “Envy” is a fun way to spend an hour and a half.