Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Any film starring Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Christopher Walken can't help but look promising. Yet for a supposed black comedy, Envy never gets darker than a faded shade of grey. Then again, a script revolving around dogshit was always going to be in trouble...
Nick (Black) is an inventor who devises a magical spray that makes poop disappear. Best friend Tim (Stiller) finds the idea too preposterous to invest in, but soon regrets it when Nick becomes a millionaire overnight.
It doesn't take long for jealousy to rear its ugly head, but Tim's resentment is more cartoon-like than cruel. With no real venom to speak of, the talent resort to familiar tricks: hyperactive antics from Black, Stiller recycling his frustrated Everyman and Walken spouting lines with his... Usual... Staccato... Delivery. All are good for a few laughs, but Steve Adams' flaccid script makes Envy deader than a funeral dirge. Another turkey to add to director Barry Levinson's recent run of stinkers.
