Envy (film)
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| Envy | |
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| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by | Barry Levinson Paula Weinstein |
| Written by | Steve Adams |
| Starring | Ben Stiller Jack Black Rachel Weisz Amy Poehler and Christopher Walken |
| Music by | Mark Mothersbaugh |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks (USA) Columbia Pictures (non-USA) |
| Release date(s) | April 30, 2004 (originally 2003) |
| Running time | 99 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Envy is a 2004 comedy film, starring Ben Stiller and Jack Black and was directed by Barry Levinson. The film was poorly received by both critics and audiences in the U.S. The film had been stalled for some time, and it was only the success of School of Rock that prompted the distributors to release the film to theatres. Both Jack Black and Jeffrey Katzenberg apologized for the film at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Many scenes were cut out of the film due to bad test screenings, evidence of this can be viewed in the Envy trailers. Ving Rhames's role as a private investigator was also deleted from the film. Originally scheduled for release on May 30, 2003, it was finally released 11 months later on April 30, 2004. Filming of the movie took place in the summer of 2002.
[edit] Plot
Tim and Nick (played by Stiller and Black) are best friends who are also neighbours and co-workers at 3M. Nick is constantly coming up with crazy ideas to get rich quick, and when he invents the Vapoorizer, a spray that instantly removes dog excrement, he actually succeeds.
As Nick's wealth continues to grow, so does Tim's jealousy, as he had initially scoffed at the idea and squandered an opportunity to invest $2,000 and become mega-rich himself. Nick is blissfully unaware of Tim's jealousy, and his generosity only serves to make Tim more envious of him.
Tim's jealousy reaches new levels after J-Man (played by Walken), a bizarre drifter, decides to become his adviser.
Nick's product is then stopped being sold because of the question, "Where does the shit go?"
It ends with Tim making up an idea for Nick and himself - Pocket Flan.
Tagline: Success didn't go to his head, it went to his neighbor.
A popular Internet tagline was created by moviegoers who were intensely displeased with Envy. It reads:
"Success didn't go to Envy, it went to a gawky, nerdy, bed-wetting, odd-ball, crazy-haired Mormon from Idaho". (referencing Envy's critical and box office failure and Napoleon Dynamite's success.)
[edit] Main cast
- Ben Stiller — Tim Dingman
- Jack Black — Nick Vanderpark
- Rachel Weisz — Debbie Dingman
- Amy Poehler — Natalie Vanderpark
- Christopher Walken — J-Man
