Envy

[dondigitalia]

I'm shocked that I haven't seen anyone mention this movie yet. It has Objectivism written all over it in big, shiny, golden letters!

I'll try to give you an idea of what it's about without giving away too much of the plot.

It stars Jack Black (who IMO, is excellent in general) and Ben Stiller, as long-time best friends and neighbors. Black is a "dreamer," while Stiller is a more down-to-Earth, nose-to-the-grindstone type.

Black comes up with a fantastic, albeit silly idea for a completely new product to introduce to the market. At the outset, he offers Stiller the opportunity to invest in the development of said product, which Stiller declines, on the basic grounds that it's a dumb idea and will never sell. Well, it does sell, and Jack Black's character enjoys his wealth in every crazy way imaginable (what a fantastic sense of life!). You want a man who knows how to enjoy what he has produced - he is it.

Stiller, observing Black's extravagance, wallows in a tremendous unfounded envy, which turns to hatred, which leads to the destruction of one of Black's most-loved possessions.

Enter Christopher Walken, a morally bankrupt tramp who tries to scheme a profit for himself out of Stiller's guilt.

Stiller eventually realizes his error, and takes the correct steps to make good with his friend. I hesitate to give away anymore, because part of this movie's appeal is the completely unexpected happenings that make it laugh-out-loud funny.

It's a wonderful story of the possibilities to be achieved by a man who is left free to use his mind and enjoy his profits in every way imaginable. It's a story of the evil Ayn Rand termed "hatred of the good for being the good." And, above all, it's the story of a single man's triumph over that evil, and his endeavor to make good on what he's done.

Two skyscrapers up!

[AwakeAndFree]

I accidentally watched parts of this movie on a very long flight. You forgot to mention the sleazy bathroom humor, and the extreme idiocy of the characters, including the "positive" ones.

[dondigitalia]

Honestly, I thought Envy's sillines was one of its appeals. It was a comedy. It's been a while since I've seen it, but the only thing I distinctly remember that could be described as "bathroom humor" was the name of the product Jack Black sold. It was a spray that instantly evaporated doggie-doo, called Va-Poo-Rize, which I found rather clever.

Stylistically, Envy is a bright, fun, satire (nowhere near as silly as spoof-comedy). I suppose it may not really be your thing, though.

[AwakeAndFree]

No, it's not.

Anyway I just wrote what I did because your first post didn't even connote that the movie was a comedy.

[dondigitalia]

I guess I did not. Here's my disclaimer for all future movie reviews: If I absolutely love it, there is a 90% chance it was a comedy. My favorite thing in life is a good LOL.

[BurgessLau]

Black comes up with a fantastic, albeit silly idea for a completely new product to introduce to the market. [...]

Two skyscrapers up!

The idea of humor intrigues me. What do you mean by "silly"? Please, no dictionary "definitions." What I am interested in is what you mean by it, as formally defined as you can -- by genus and differentia if possible.

With that established, I have another question: What role do you think "silliness" should play in the life of an ideal man -- such as the fictional character Howard Roark, a master-builder of skyscrapers?

[dondigitalia]

The idea of humor intrigues me. What do you mean by "silly"? Please, no dictionary "definitions." What I am interested in is what you mean by it, as formally defined as you can -- by genus and differentia if possible.

Hmm. I may not have used exactly the right word, but here's the best definition I can give for what I meant:

an overall feeling of playfulness and whimsy

P.S. I rarely give dictionary definitions. I'm not a big fan of them.

With that established, I have another question: What role do you think "silliness" should play in the life of an ideal man -- such as the fictional character Howard Roark, a master-builder of skyscrapers?

I think "silliness" is a wonderful thing to have in the right context. It's fun to act a little silly sometimes when you are relaxing with your friends & family. Out of the proper context, it's not so good. Imagine a man making funny faces or voices to his child or wife as a form of entertainment, as compared to doing the same to his boss. It's the same action, but the context gives it an entirely different meaning.

In this movie, Jack Black's silliness is used precisely for this purpose. He puts a carousel in his front yard, a bowling alley in his basement, and rides his horse like he's in a rodeo.

Besides that, silliness, sometimes to the point of being a bit ridiculous, can be a great comedic device in a movie.

[dondigitalia]

I'll add that I don't, by any means present Jack Black's character in this movie as an ideal man. I'm just saying the movie as a whole, particularly his character, portrayed a fantastic sense of life, and it's theme seemed as though it were lifted straight from Ayn Rand's writings on "the hatred of the good for being the good."

[Som Guy]

I did like this film quite a bit, I think what I disliked the most was the ending. This has more to do with the plot than anything else.

*spoiler*

At the end the product has to be discontinued because a type of bacteria inside the feces would become quite deadly when the product was used on it. I just couldn't see why they wouldn't just combine thier product with some antibacterial spray like Lysol >_<

*end spoiler*

[dondigitalia]

I kind of liked the end - not necessarily that their product was discontinued, but the attitude they took toward it and the change we got to see in Stiller's character.