| ENVY |
 2004 - USADirector: Barry Levinson
- Reviewed by Jennifer
There are so many reasons not to see Envy. It stars Jack Black in a leading role, poo is central to the plot, and it came out the year Ben Stiller was in so many movies he threatened to take over the world. Well, there must be a fourteen-year-old boy trapped somewhere inside of me, because I thought Envy was okay. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it. All right! I laughed the whole time. Whatever! Tim Dingman (Ben Stiller) and Nick Vanderpark (Jack Black) are best friends and neighbors who do everything together. When Nick comes up with an idea for a product that will cause dog doo to vapoorize, he invites Tim to invest with him as a partner. But Tim's not so sure about that. He fears losing his investment on a failed invention, allows Nick to fly solo. Poor, cautious Tim then watches as his friend succeeds and acquires unimagined wealth. To make matters worse, Nick doesn't leave his friends in the dust once he makes it big. Even though they live under the power lines in a suburban wasteland, Nick builds a huge house on the same property, just so he can be close to his best friend. He buys a beautiful white steed, which pauses to nibble Tim's apples each morning, and there's flan for everyone at Nick's house. Flan! They aren't even sure what flan is, but everybody loves it! It becomes a running joke, which I enjoyed because I think flan is the most evil dessert ever. Not only does it have a sickening consistency and a stupid flavor, my friend practically burned her hand off while making that freaky sugar syrup that goes with it. Flan should be mocked, in my opinion. As Nick's wealth increases, so does the envy of the Dingman family. Soon it's eating them alive, their marriage is unraveling, and Tim has lost his job. After an afternoon of drinking in a local bar, Tim meets up with J-Man (Christopher Walken), and suddenly finds himself tangled up with a very shady fellow. Christoper Walken is so much fun as J-Man that it's worth watching Envy just to see him. His eccentric and. Wildly imaginative. Inflection! Is.... hilarious. And you can see that he's having a great time in the role. At one point he even tosses his hair with a carrot that happens to be in his hand. Priceless! Shenanigans ensue as Tim attempts to deal with his envy, Nick's constant kindness, and the unshakable presence of J-Man. There are the bungled disposal efforts of a dead horse, a ramshackle cabin in the woods, and an out of control merry-go-round to contend with, and though none of that sounds funny, it's weirdly entertaining. Envy is like a crazy blend of The 'Burbs, Tommy Boy, and The Great Outdoors, yet in the realm of dark slapstick comedy, it works somehow. Owing to the films moderate success is a surprisingly good cast, whipped into shape under the direction of Barry Levinson. Ben Stiller is oddly likable in his standard role as the uptight neurotic whose life spins out of control. As Tim's wife, Rachel Weisz proves her comedic chops. Amy Poehler takes her SNL humor and works it as Nick's wife. Christopher Walken is flat out one of the funniest people ever, and Jack Black is—gulp—lovely. I can't believe I just said that. I cannot stand Jack Black with his crazy eyes and hyperactive antics, but he is so unconditionally loyal and forgiving as Nick Vanderpark that I couldn't help but like him. I am left now to rethink my feelings. Does Jack Black really annoy me to the brink of violence, or does he just remind me of an annoying guy I used to know? Is he actually a grating, obnoxious little man, or have I judged him superficially? Who knew a movie about poo could open such a can of worms? |
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