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

Ving Rhames filmed scenes as a gay detective, but he ended up being cut from the final product.

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Goofs

In the scene when J-Man is sitting in Tim's chair after Tim left the cabin, J-Man has crumbs on his shirt and pants. However, when the shot changes to show both J-Man and Tim, the crumbs disappear, then reappear when J-Man has his close-up again.

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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

Envy
Written by Mark Mothersbaugh
Performed by Dan Navarro

User Reviews

Slightly Good and Quietly Funny

Saw it in May 04 when it first came out (yes in an empty theater) and thought it was quietly funny with a moral lesson. Not for everyone but if you like Stiler, Black or Walken, see the movie and judge for yourself. If you are a critic and you are looking for art, forget it. If you are looking for a rainy night rental movie that you can eat some cheap popcorn and diet coke to, then this is a movie you can enjoy. You don't have to think too hard to enjoy the comedy and the moral is easy to pick up on. It won't win any awards nor go down in cinema history as a gem but it's worth the price of the rent and don't forget to rewind. I give it 7 out of 10 Frogs.