- published: 09 Mar 2013
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Envy is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black.
Tim Dingman (Ben Stiller) and Nick Vanderpark (Jack Black) are best friends, neighbors and co-workers at 3M. Nick is constantly coming up with crazy ideas to get rich quick, and when he invents Vapoorize, a spray that instantly removes dog feces, he actually succeeds. As Nick's wealth continues to grow, so does Tim's envy, as he had initially scoffed at the idea and squandered an opportunity to invest and become mega-rich himself. Nick is blissfully unaware of Tim's jealousy, and his generosity only serves to make Tim more envious of him. Meanwhile Nick's wife Natalie (Amy Poehler) decides to run for state senate but is continually plagued by questions about her husband's product.
After Tim's wife Debbie (Rachel Weisz) and children temporarily leave and he is fired from 3M, Tim's jealousy reaches new levels. In a bar he meets J-Man (Christopher Walken), a bizarre drifter, who lends a sympathetic ear and offers advice. After a drunken night out, Tim believes that he accidentally kills Nick's beloved horse, Corkey, and buries the horse in his abandoned swimming pool.
Envy (also called invidiousness) is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, experience or possession and wishes that the other lacked it."
Bertrand Russell said envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others. Although envy is generally seen as something negative, Russell also believed that envy was a driving force behind the movement towards democracy and must be endured to achieve a more just social system. However, psychologists have recently suggested that there may be two types of envy: malicious envy and benign envy - benign envy being proposed as a type of positive motivational force.
One theory that helps to explain envy and its effects on human behavior is the Socioevolutionary theory. Based upon (Charles) Darwin’s (1859) theory of evolution through natural selection, socioevolutionary theory predicts that humans behave in ways that enhance individual survival and also the reproduction of their genes. Thus, this theory provides a framework for understanding social behavior and experiences, such as the experience and expression of envy, as rooted in biological drives for survival and procreation. Recent studies have demonstrated that inciting envy actually changes cognitive function; boosting mental persistence and memory.
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Fahrenheit 9/11, I, Robot, Ocean's Twelve and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
These are the top grossing films that were first released in 2004. The top ten films of 2004, by worldwide gross in United States dollars, as well as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia grosses, are as follows:
Shrek 2 set a new record for total gross by an animated film—the record was surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010. On July 7, Spider-Man 2 reached a $200 million domestic gross in a record time of 8 days. On July 18, after 19 days in release, Spider-Man 2 reached $300 million domestically in another record time. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has the highest international revenue of $546 million compared to Shrek 2's $478.6 million.