kylakrucifixion
Jack Black and Ben Stiller perform wonderfully, as does Christopher Walken. I won't go in to a long description. However, forget what the other critics say and give it a try. It really is great. It's bizarre, yes. And It's silly. It's also funny as he'll, despite what others may say. It's unique with its story, I've never seen another movie like this. I give this movie a 10 rating. I only wish it did better.
RevRonster
I know this one came out a decade ago and I'm late to the game but the film's initial bad reviews had me put this on my Netflix queue to one day check out
that one day ended up being 10 years after it came out. Honestly, I could have waited another 10.The comedy in the film failed to make me laugh at every stop within the film's story. The gags just feel weak at best and like a desperate plea to get some chuckles at worse. I spent the entire running length of the film in silence and only chuckled once at a comment Christopher Walken's character made. Comedy is completely subjective but I was hard pressed to think of anyone who would find the lackluster shenanigans in this film amusing.Additionally, despite the fact that I enjoy pretty much everyone on the cast, no one really seemed like they really cared that much about the final product. Jack Black and Walken seem like they are putting some effort in but with the script as it is they can only do so much. Stiller, as much as I like him, looks like he just was doing the film for some extra cash and actresses Rachel Weisz and Amy Poehler are completely wasted and barely utilized.Finally, the story just feels messy and like it is just jumping from one section to the next with no real development or even an attempt to get the audience invested. There was a potential for "Envy" to be amusing—if not due to the cast alone—but the story is just flat and flavorless and the actors seem to match that.
Wuchak
"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
daworldismine
envy is not as funny as i thought it would initially be, but after some of the reviews i read i found it to be much funnier than people was giving it props for, now true its not a gag a minute movie like zoolander or dodgeball, but ben stiller and jack black work well with each other and christopher walken is as great as ever, so the story is about jack black's character inventing a spray that makes dog pooh disappear, obviosly ben wants no part of it, but when the product makes jack black rich ben stiller starts to see the envy, its not great by all means and both ben stiller and jack black have funnier and better movies under their belt, but if your a fan of either i recommend this as its still a funny flick and i laughed my ass off quite a few times, as a big fan of ben stiller id have to say this is a lesser stiller but still great fun, give it a watch
AD
