Save Ben Stiller
If anyone out there knows Ben Stiller, please, I beg you, do something. He's in way over his head and he's sinking deeper and deeper into some terrible shit with every movie he makes.
Remember 1998? It was a big year for Stiller. He hit the jackpot with There's Something About Mary, arguably one of the most influential comedies in the last decade. TSAM did for comedy what The Matrix did for action flicks and Pulp Fiction did for crime pictures; it's influence permeated the genre for years. Stiller followed TSAM with two outstanding, mostly dramatic performances in Neil LaBute's Your Friends and Neighbors and the Jerry Stahl bio-pic Permanent Midnight. After years of great character work, especially on his short-lived TV show, Stiller finally had the fame he deserved.
Then, as the late 90s gave way to the Aughts, something strange began to happen. Stiller started showing up in some pretty terrible movies.
Sure, there are some exceptions, Meet the Parents and The Royal Tenenbaums, most notably. But for the most part, Stiller's body of work is leading him down the path to Hackville. Just look at the wet-fart flicks that stick out on Stiller's resume: Mystery Men, Keeping the Faith, Zoolander (I know this has become a sort of cult hit, and it definitely has its moments, but let's be serious for a second. Zoolander is a pretty terrible movie, even by stupid comedy standards.), Duplex, Along Came Polly and Starsky & Hutch.
Each of these movies are good for a few laughs, but when looked at objectively, these are bad movies that find Stiller playing the same high-strung, fidgety everyman, guaranteed to have at least one slow-burn scene where his reserved manner gives way to a hyperactive, stammering alter ego.
Now comes Envy, Stiller's latest effort co-starring Jack Black, Chris Walken, Amy Poehler and Rachel Weisz. Originally filmed back in 2002, the movie's release was delayed for more than a year. I first saw previews for Envy about ten months ago. Then I heard it was being shelved until early 2004, and I knew that wasn't a good sign. But I was reassured by the talent involved. In addition to the seemingly hilarious cast, the film had Barry Levinson directing (remember him from a couple of films called Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam?) and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David producing. How could it go wrong?
Who knows. But it did. It went very wrong. It's one of the most humorless films I've seen in a long time. Think about that, folks. Think about how bad a film has to be that even Jack Black and current SNL-standout Amy Poehler couldn't save it.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Excellent post S.E., well put and informative. Thanks and welcome!
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
I can't agree on Starsky And Hutch being a bad film. It was wonderful. Todd Phillips has yet to make a wrong move, as far as i'm concerned. His lowbrow yuck-fests are the best out there as far as mainstream comedy goes. I would also argue that Dumb And Dumber is a more influencial film than There's Something About Mary. But this was good, well-written stuff. Eric says welcome, so i guess you're new and so on. Congrats on an excellent first post then, or first-ish. I am The Duke, and i bid you good day
3 - S.E.
Thanks for the kind words, Eric and The Duke.
Duke: Dumb and Dumber definitely has to be listed as one of the more influential comedies of the 90s. But the influence of TSAM on the teen and gross-out comedy genres, in my opinion, reaches a bit further than Dumb and Dumber. TSAM was really the first mainstream mega-hit that scoffed at the notion that anything was off-limits when it came to comedy. Dumb and Dumber tiptoed up to the line of good taste (Daniels' trouble in the bathroom and Carrey's heart removal fight scene come to mind), but TSAM ran right past the line and never looked back. I mean, remember when you saw the balls-in-the-zipper shot for the first time? Lowbrow comedy hasn't been the same since.
And I would agree with your take on Todd Phillips' career to this point. I just felt Starsky & Hutch felt more like a series of skits with varying degrees of humor than a well-made movie. But any movie with Will Ferrell can't be all bad, right?
4 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
S.E, you may indeed be correct on that matter, the one about TSAM being more influencial than D&D. Certainly Dumb And Dumber gave the farrelly's (and the public) a taste for all that urine-drinking and stuff, but your correct in that it took TSAM to get the ball (no pun intended) rolling. I couldn't believe i was seeing a mangled testicle in a 15-rated movie. and bodily fluids have been all over the screen since then (on the inside part i mean). I can't recall an explicit glimpse of, um, population paste in a film hitherto. Now its everywhere. Notable mensions go to Y Tu Mama Tambien (wanking race leads to arty shot of semen entering swimming pool) and Ichi The Killer (killer is discovered by way of large ammount of said substance hanging from a hedge outside a house). Starsky And Hutch does indeed seem like a series of sketches, but then that never done Monty Python any harm in the old film-making arena, or arena de filmic, french fans.
5 - visualsimplicity
I think I would be one of the "cult" admirers of "Zoolander" and I don't think it was a bad film at all. It was well set up. I also enjoyed "Starsky and Hutch." There's something funny in the sort of improv-like interaction between Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. It's odd and a bit uncomfortable, but I find it entertaining.
As for the Farelly influence. You forget "Kingpin" also. That was another film that was influential in the low-brow humor department. Woody's landlady, eesh.
6 - Nick Jones
Stiller's one of those people I want to smack around until they agree to let me read the scripts they get, so they don't keep pissing their talent away on junk. See also: Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, et al.
7 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
vis sim, Kingpin indeed paved the way too, but due to its relatively modest success, i don't think it can be noted as particularly influencial on a large scale, other than that it gave the farrelly's confidence to go even further!
8 - Nick Jones
Duke, you probably already know this, but one of Ben's earlier film appearances was in the comedy/romance/horror movie "Highway To Hell". Not only that, but his mom & dad (Stiller and Meara) also appear in it. It's not a great film, but it has it's moments, and a few interesting twists, e.g., literalizing the concept "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
The Stiller Family scenes take place in and around a diner.
9 - Nick Jones
"Highway To Hell," 1992.
10 - grape
I just saw Envy yesterday. It was definitely disappointing, but I thought Stiller was the highlight. I thought given the fact that it was paced slower than a marathon run by a man with stumps for legs, Stiller's performance was still 110%, and given a script that basically played a funny situation way too straight, Stiller's particular brand of too-painful-to-watch-schmuck comedy was at least a little bit redeeming.
On a side note, the scene with Rachel Weisz on the floor of the laundry room begging Tim not to tell the truth was actually really disturbing and sad. There's dark, and then there's desperate.