Parents' Guide to

Envy

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

It's a long, long time between chuckles.

Movie PG-13 2004 99 minutes
Envy Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 1 parent review

kipwalker44
kipwalker44 Adult
June 3, 2015
age 9+

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

ENVY centers on overly-focused Tim (Ben Stiller) and dreamer Nick (Jack Black), best friends and colleagues. Nick offers Tim a chance to invest on his new idea, "Vapoorize," but the idea seems absurd and Tim turns him down. But this time Nick's dream comes true, and soon he is doing infomercials and raking in the loot. Nick does not want to move, so he builds a mansion across the street from Tim. He has a full-size carousel, a yellow Lamborghini with a license plate that says "CACAKING," a butler, a beautiful white horse, and a doorbell that barks "Where Has My Little Dog Gone?" And of this does to Tim's feelings of friendship what the spray does to the dog poop. Tim is consumed with envy and that leads to some outlandish activities involving revenge, a cover-up, and Christopher Walken.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (4):

Envy isn't bad; it just isn't good enough. It's a long, long time between chuckles. Nick is a sweet guy, which is lovely for him, but it does not make the best use of Black's energy and it is not very funny. Stiller is always fine with repressed fury, but the script does not give him enough fury to do much repressing. He is also a pretty sweet guy, and that is also not very funny. Both men have stay-at-home wives (Amy Poehler and Rachel Weiscz) and interchangeable children. This movie has the "sit," but not the "com."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about envy and greed. Why are they called "deadly" sins? Why was it so hard for Tim to tell Nick the truth? What did Nick's reaction tell you about him?

Movie Details

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