The film opens with two families going through their morning ritual. Tim Dingman (Ben Stiller) is married to Debbie (Rachel Weisz). He commutes to work with his neighbor Nick Vanderpark (Jack Black) who is married to Natalie (Amy Poehler). All this is done while listening to Leon Redbone. The film had actors and a musician who I love, yet I wasn't grabbed by the action.Nick is a dreamer who doesn't focus. He is thinking of inventions all the time. Tim is the conservative of the two and appears to be in a more senior position at work. Nick gets an ideal of a spray that will make dog poo disappear so people don't have to pick it up. He offers Tim a chance to go 50-50 into his idea. Tim doesn't think will work.The ideal takes off and about 15 minutes into the film, the action begins with the characters not yet established. The "envy" aspect builds way too fast. Christopher Walken enters the film as "The J-Man" and attempts to relate Tim's microcosm dilemma to the overall workings of society, something the script does rather poorly...or poo-ly. The film moves to a low point of envy in the nude (waist up on camera) men hot tub scene.Like the rest of the script, the expected ending comes at you rather quickly and not too well developed or funny.Parental Guide: 1 f-bomb, no nudity, no sex.

This movie has become one of my favorite comedies and I feel the need to express my opinion about it. I can understand if it's not your cup of tea, but I will never understand how anyone could HATE it; maybe audiences had certain expectations because of Jack Black and Ben Stiller. It has a simple yet very original plot for a comedy; I've never seen one quite like this. The whole cast is great. Probably Christopher Walken's best cameo-type supporting role; some may argue that he steals the show. Even the soundtrack is funny. It definitely has the potential to be a cult favorite. It is very quotable, especially Walken's lines. It is mainly a plot driven type of comedy, but still connects you to the characters along the way. So, ignore all the hate and watch it for yourself before you blow it off as crap.If this was your cup of tea, I also recommend these other comedies: Gentlemen Broncos, Napoleon Dynamite, Clear History, The Big Lebowski, Election, What About Bob?, Extract, And Super(Rainn Wilson)

Envy (2004): Dir: Barry Levinson / Cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Christopher Walken, Amy Poehler: Comedy about jealousy, greed and the very thing that creates bad out of good. Ben Stiller and Jack Black plays best pals who work together at a sandpaper factory but when Black comes up with an idea regarding a spray that can vanquish dog dung, Stiller refuses to go half on it thinking it ridiculous. When the idea excel Stiller is overcome with envy even though Black remains the same friend. When Stiller accepts advice from a homeless bum played by Christopher Walken, he ends up accidentally shooting Black's horse with an arrow while drunk. Realizing his wrong he struggles to conceal it. Great idea although the invention is never followed up upon. Well made comedy with fine directing by Barry Levinson who also made Wag the Dog and Rain Man. Stiller and Black are terrific at opposite ends whose common ground rests on forgiveness and friendship. Unfortunately Rachel Weisz is flat as Stiller's wife. Walken pulls off the humour effectively in his interjection and tragic poise. Amy Poehler plays Black's wife who is running for state senate. It might be interesting to see Black and Poehler in stronger comedic material. While the film could have elevated to greater heights with the invention it still presents a strong theme resulting in love, friendship and forgiveness. Score: 6 ½ / 10

Though he often takes himself too seriously and generates reviews that contain words too large for even a well-read thespian like myself (wink, wink), I respect Roger Ebert's opinion. I thought he was going to savage Envy, but he really didn't. Though his review was far from glowing, he didn't viciously attack the characters, plot lines or dialogue like he normally does for such low-grade flicks. I think it's a case where he expected the movie to be funny because of the reputation of the two main actors (Black and Stiller where hot commodities in 2002-04 when this film was created and released) so he attempted to contrive even the slightest bit of positivity from it.Truth is, though, there really wasn't all that much to like about it.I saw Envy for the first time six and a half years after its release in 2011 and I sort of knew what to expect. I understood the plot and pace were a little bizarre and Ben Stiller was nominated for a Razzie for his performance. So, I guess it's safe to say it lived up to it's reputation as a wondering, darkish comedy with very little character development and concrete story lines. If I would have gone in blind, I probably would have turned the damn thing off half way through, right after Stiller kills Black's pet horse in a drunken stooper.3/10 stars, I guess?