What’s the lowest-scored Jack Black film on Rotten Tomatoes? That dishonor falls to “Envy,” a 2004 comedy where Black portrays Nick, a schemer with a big dream. Tim (Ben Stiller) is used to his best friend’s outlandish ideas, so he doesn’t put any stock in Nick’s latest notion — a vaporizer that can eliminate any organic matter. Tim doesn’t invest, but when The Vaporizer goes on the market as a dog doo removal system, it becomes a runaway success. Tim watches in increasingly violent paroxysms of jealousy over Nick’s success, culminating in a fight that could ruin their friendship for good.
This movie hit a low point with many critics. For instance, Jo Berry of Empire Magazine castigated the film for taking the typically funny Stiller and Black and making them dull. The end result was an 8% critical approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. But unlike “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” there is no audience groundswell to protect its reputation — it has a 27% approval score from viewers. Thankfully, at least Black’s had plenty of other films that have gotten critical and audience approval since then.
