“Envy” is a mediocre comedy starring Ben Stiller (“Meet The Parents”, “Zoolander”) and Jack Black (“Nacho Libre”, “Kung Fu Panda”). I think the film has been undeserving of a lot of the criticism hurled at it but that doesn’t make it a good movie. The film’s ideas don’t necessarily have a lot of potential and the execution is pretty much average throughout.

Tim (Stiller) and Nick (Black) are best friends, neighbours and colleagues but when Nick comes up with a crazy get rich quick scheme involving a spray to get rid of dog faeces (named ‘Vapoorise’), Tim dismisses the idea. Nick pursues his idea and becomes a multi-millionaire, leading to Tim becoming increasingly envious of Nick.

Ben Stiller is never especially funny and his performance in “Envy” does nothing to change that claim. Jack Black made me laugh in “Nacho Libre” but rarely manages to channel his talent to deliver the laughs. The chemistry between the two is okay but nothing special and that creates a relatively large problem for the movie as a whole. Rachel Weisz (“Constantine”) is actually fairly amusing as Tim’s wife, Debbie. I was disappointed by Christopher Walken (“Batman Returns”) because he is usually very good but the material just wasn’t there for him.

“Envy” opens with an awful disorientating shot that spins around the beds of Tim and Nick and that is not a good way to start the movie. Aside from that, there isn’t anything in here that’s particularly bad, it’s just lacking decent components. If you enjoy “Envy” then that’s fine but I think most people are going to struggle to find anything in here that really makes it worth their time. Fans of Stiller and Black will probably get a few laughs out of it but most people can probably cope missing out on this.