Envy

There are tons of bad things that can be said about this film, like that it’s boring and uses one of the oldest and worst comic plot devices—a guy has to keep a secret from his friend, and spends the whole movie fumbling about trying to do so (it’s basically a Three’s Company episode on super-long play). But, seeing as you won’t be going to see it anyway, let me say what’s great about Envy: Jack Black plays the most likeable and yet annoying guy on Earth, without falling into the standard comic-cliché of the likeable-yet-annoying guy. And he seems to have real feelings. Best of all, there’s a scene in which he and Ben Stiller—who plays the neighbor with the terrible secret—sit down and talk about stuff and resolve things in a rational, calm, loving and adult manner. You just don’t see that in movies a lot. And you won’t see it here, because you probably won’t go see Envy, because, for the most part, it’s a crappy movie. But if you do wander in by accident while drunkenly searching for Van Helsing or something, pay attention to the fine performances and occasional touches of maturity in the script.