Envy (2004)

A man becomes increasingly jealous of his friend's newfound success.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Steve Adams

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Tim Dingman
Jack Black	...	Nick Vanderpark
Rachel Weisz	...	Debbie Dingman
Amy Poehler	...	Natalie Vanderpark
Christopher Walken	...	J-Man
Ariel Gade	...	Lula Dingman
Sam Lerner	...	Michael Dingman
Lily Jackson	...	Nellie Vanderpark
Connor Matheus	...	Nathan Vanderpark
Hector Elias	...	Eduardo
Angee Hughes	...	Woman at Play
Manny Kleinmuntz	...	Dimitriov
Blue Deckert	...	Cal
John Gavigan	...	Les
Terry Bozeman	...	3M Worker

Storyline

Ben Stiller and Jack Black star as Tim and Nick, best friends, neighbors and co-workers, whose equal footing is suddenly tripped up when one of Nick's harebrained get-rich-quick schemes actually succeeds: Vapoorizer, a spray that literally makes dog poop, or any other kind for that matter, evaporate into thin air -- to where exactly is anyone's guess. Tim, who had scoffed at Nick's idea and passed on an opportunity to get in on the deal, can only watch as Nick's fortune -- and Tim's own envy -- grow to equally outrageous proportions. When the flames of jealousy are fanned by an oddball drifter (Walken) who imposes himself into the situation, Tim's life careens wildly out of control ... taking Nick's with it.

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Plot Keywords:

falling downhill | fired | dog | jealousy | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

It's for the neighbor with everything.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual/crude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Dreamworks Pictures.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'envie

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,160,886, 2 May 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$12,181,484, 23 May 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Castle Rock Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie having been shot almost two years before it was released in theaters was in danger of being released straight to video due to poor audience response during test screenings. It was only due to School of Rock (2003)'s huge success that it finally got a theatrical release.

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Goofs

When Tim is trying to do chest compressions on the horse after he shoots it, the entire torso rocks back and forth, an obvious dummy.

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Quotes

[as they approach the "lake" by the "cabin"]
Debbie Dingman: Under no circumstances is that a lake.
Tim Dingman: Maybe there's a tide?

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, viewers see a TV infomercial for Dingman and Vanderpark's new invention, Pocket Flan.

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Connections

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

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Soundtracks

Old Drunk Philosopher
Written by Mark Mothersbaugh
Performed by Dan Navarro

User Reviews

This was weird... I loved it.

If you don't like a dark comedy, don't even watch this movie!

Lots of people are bashing this movie just because it's takes a certain personality to understand and appreciate this type of humor.

Everything in the movie is slightly exaggerated enough to be funny. It was refreshing not to have to swim through dozens of fart jokes or gay jokes.

Jack Black was so over-dramatic (I think that's just the way he is- Lord bless 'im). Ben Stiller plays the bumbling pent-up family man. Both very good actors. And, I must say, Christopher Walken is so wonderfully weird, it was only natural for him to be in this movie. I would make this a purchase- I think it will be like Zoolander- a cult classic in certain circles.