Envy (2004)

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer (WGA):

Steve Adams (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Success didn't go to his head, it went to his neighbor.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Best Friend | Frat Pack | Airplane | Employment Dismissal | Rain

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual/crude humor.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:14 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40103) | Iceland:LH | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Italy:T | Singapore:PG | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

At the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, during a press conference for Shark Tale (2004), both Jack Black and Dreamworks' Jeffrey Katzenberg publicly apologized for Envy (2004).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Debbie throws the light bulb in the trash can, there is a roll of paper towels on the counter behind her. When Debbie takes the can of Vapoorize out of the trash can, the roll of paper towels is gone from the counter and is instead in the garbage.

Quotes:

Michael Dingman: Boy that flan was good. I wish we had flan.
Tim Dingman: [grimaces, gets up from the bed, pats Michael's arm and whispers to acknowledge Michael] OK.
Michael Dingman: Dad?
Tim Dingman: Yeah?
Michael Dingman: How come we're getting the little itty-bitty pool?
Tim Dingman: Mikey, It's not a little itty-bitty. The square one is the little itty-bitty. We're getting the bean shaped model. Right?
Michael Dingman: A little itty-bitty bean.
Tim Dingman: It's not a little itty-bitty bean. It's an averaged sized bean, Mikey. And I've got news for you, my friend. There are kids in parts of the world who would walk 50 miles through quicksand just so they could stick a toe in your swimming pool. And I've got news for you about beans too...

Soundtrack:

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)

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.