Review
ENVY
Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Christopher Walken
Directed by Barry Levinson
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Envy might well have been intended as a savage satire of the nouveau riche, conspicuous consumption and the damaging keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality that destroys the spirit of so many North Americans. But to make good on that intention, director Barry Levinson would have to show some teeth, and risk alienating his multiplex audience by showing them for the middle-brow capitalist sheep they are. As it stands, Envy isn’t nearly mean-spirited enough to muster any laughs at their expense.
Instead, Jack Black and Ben Stiller ham it up as neighbours whose long-standing friendship is tested after one of them becomes a multi-millionaire by inventing Vapoorize, a product that disintegrates animal feces. And Levinson can’t even squeeze a few decent poop jokes out of that scatological premise. No, Envy is as constipated as comedy gets, even with poor Christopher Walken stuck trying to loosen things up a bit in his role as straight man to the unfunny mugging of the two leads.
At least Walken carries himself with dignity, whereas one can see the panic on Stiller and Black’s faces as they ponder the impact this steaming turd might have on their respective careers. Certain characters in Envy ask Vapoorize’s creator, "Where does the shit go?" But there’s a more pertinent question I’d like to ask Levinson: "Where does this shit come from in the first place?" |
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