I love this movie so much

Sorry, this movie sucks

Memorable, crazy movie

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I seen this movie on DVD not long after it was released and thought it was odd there was a Jack Black/ Ben Stiller movie I'd never heard of so I bought it, I now know why I'd never heard of it because they disowned it...watched it once and the DVD still sits on my shelf over a decade later ( I really don't know why, I may watch it again someday but I doubt it )

"Envy" bombed at the box office in 2004, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching (or owning). Jack Black and Ben Stiller play neighbors & best friends in Southern California who work at a sandpaper factory. Black strikes it rich with an invention and builds a vast mansion where his former home was. Of course, this stirs the envy of Stiller who gets mixed-up with an eccentric vagabond, played by Christopher Walken. Amy Poehler and Rachel Weisz play the wives.While "Envy" isn't very laugh-out-loud funny, it's consistently amusing and the story is good enough to maintain your attention. Walken stands out as the offbeat bum. What I like best is the film's originality; I really can't think of any other films like it. Maybe that's why it bombed. I also like the way "Envy" pokes fun at materialism and everything that goes with it, e.g. envy. In addition, it's nice to watch a comedy like this without overt sleaze and overkill cussing, like 2007's "The Heartbreak Kid" (I don't mind realistic cussing in movies, but when it's overdone it's neither impressive nor funny; it's just stoo-pid and smacks of lazy writing).Weisz and Poehler are as gorgeous as ever, but they're decidedly peripheral and the filmmakers never take advantage of their presence. Regardless, "Envy" is solid, original amusement.The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in Santa Clarita, L.A. & Culver Studios, CA, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.GRADE: B

I remember hearing the title for the film a couple of times, but I had no idea who was in it or what the theme was, when I did eventually find out some of the facts, including that it was one star out of five, I was intrigued, from director Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam; Rain Man). Basically best friends, neighbours and co-workers Tim Dingman (Razzie nominated Ben Stiller) and Nick Vanderpark (Jack Black), and have been for years, but their friendship is due to change quite dramatically. Nick is often coming up with hair-brained ideas for inventions, but then he invents one that actually works, he has created a spray that is used on dog feces, and it instantly disappears. Soon enough with the high demand for the product makes Nick a millionaire, so naturally he builds a bigger house across the road, with a bowling alley and swimming pool, he buys a nice car and he buys a horse. It is obvious that Tim missed out on the opportunity to invest or help out in being a part of the "Vapoorize" business, and his envy is making their friendship very tricky, and Tim's wife Debbie (Rachel Weisz) is mad too. One night, not long after losing his job, Tim goes out for a drink, and in the bar he meets drifting bum J-Man (Christopher Walken), who convinces him he should do something about his envy. while drunk and walking home, Tim takes a bow and arrow and randomly shoots in the air, and he unintentionally kills Nick's horse Corkey, and the only way to get rid of it is bury it under what was meant to be his pool in the ground. Soon enough Nick is desperate to get the horse back, offering a $50,000 reward for his return, so J-Man suggests that Tim digs it back up and makes it look like a natural death that he can find and claim the reward. Of course this plan doesn't go smoothly, with Tim's wife and kids staying overnight in a run-down cabin to avoid suspicion, and they end up losing the horse that was put on top of the car. Meanwhile, Nick is having slight troubles of his own, as hundreds of protesters are demanding to know from him or wife Natalie (Amy Poehler) where the dog poo goes after it has disappeared. After seeing that Tim has agreed with Nick to join the business, helping with promotion and stuff, J-Man blackmails him for money or else he tells about the dead horse. But Tim confesses to Debbie, and against her wishes to keep the money rolling, he also confesses about what happened to Corkey to Nick, he understands it was a mistake, and after thinking J-Man is dead they seem to be friends again. In the end though, it turns out that the "Vapoorize" spray contains a toxic ingredient, and forced off the shelves, but thankfully, Tim with the agreement of Nick comes up with a new invention to make money, flan in a pot called Pocket Flan. Also starring Ariel Gade as Lula Dingman, Sam Lerner as Michael Dingman, Lily Jackson as Nellie Vanderpark, Connor Matheus as Nathan Vanderpark and Hector Elias as Eduardo. I agree with the critics that it is a good cast, Stiller average as the envious friend, Black - after his success in School of Rock - as his show-off friend, Weisz gets her moments, and Walken is amusing as the wise tramp. The concept of a spray getting rid of dog's mess is alright, but the scripting needed much more improvement, not even loads of characters repeating the "S" word is that funny, it just didn't make me laugh much, a terribly boring comedy. Pretty poor!

Start with the script. I have seen cartoons with more depth than "Envy". Anytime characters keep repeating what you have already seen, and was not funny the first time, a movie is in deep trouble, which "Envy" certainly is. A movie that relies on one joke had better have somewhere to go with it. Here we have a film that goes absolutely nowhere. Christopher Walken especially would like to forget this bomb, because his character is so weak. Ben Stiller has been in some pretty good black comedies, "Flirting With Disaster", and "Duplex", immediately come to mind. Be certain that "Envy" is not a black comedy. There are no double meanings, just total nonsense. "Envy" deserves it's low rating, because like it's subject matter, it stinks. - MERK