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ENVY (Apr 2004)
Director: Barry Levinson.
Writers: Steve Adams.
Starring: Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Christopher Walken, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler.
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Poo-sillanimous.
by
Jon Dunmore © 26 Nov 2005.
Nick Vanderpark's empire is
built on poo.
 In Barry Levinson's ENVY, corporate
peon and shiftless dreamer, Vanderpark (an uncharacteristically reined-in
Jack Black) invents a spray which vaporizes doggy-doo, appropriately named "Va-poo-rize."
His pragmatic neighbor, Tim Dingman (Ben Stiller, in characteristic nebbish idiom),
who is also Vanderpark's co-worker and best friend, is the character to whom the
movie's title pertains. Though he was initially invited to invest in Vanderpark's
invention, Dingman poo-poohed the concept, and watching Vanderpark's riches grow
to maddening proportions drives him to deeds of dastardly dander...
Hard
to pinpoint why ENVY is such a fartistic failure. The ingredients were ripe:
two brilliant comic actors (Jack Black and Ben Stiller), one off-the-can comic
actor (Christopher Walken), a reasonably loo-cid storyline, a recurring song evoking
a Farrelly Brothers' taint, and a scatological script - always good for a flushing
laugh.
99
minutes of comedic diarrhea later, Vanderpark's very invention leaves him neck-deep
in political poo, finding the two friends on the same stool again. And us on the
pot.
With
Levinson's loose direction and constipated performances, ENVY fails to
make a splash. Like Vanderpark's empire, this movie was unfortunately also built
on poo.
END |
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ENVY (Apr 2004)
Director: Barry Levinson.
Writers: Steve Adams.
Starring: Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Christopher Walken, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler.
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