English, baby!

Envy

Date: May 19 2004

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

mood

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

The new movie Envy, Tim (Ben Stiller) and Nick (Jack Black) are best friends, neighbors and co-workers. Their equal footing in life is suddenly altered when one of Nick’s hare-brained get-rich-quick schemes actually succeeds: the Vapoorizer, a spray that literally makes dog poop disappear into thin air. Tim, who thought Nick’s idea was stupid and passed on an opportunity to get in on the deal, can only watch as Nick becomes extremely rich. When a strange man (Christopher Walken) gets involved in the situation, things get out of control for both Tim and Nick.
Miguel recently watch Envy. Listen to him tell Beth all about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Miguel

Beth

Miguel: Beth, I snuck in to the absolute worse movie I’ve seen in so long yesterday.

Beth: Oh no! What film was it?

Miguel: Well, it was called Envy. And it had Ben Stiller and Jack Black, who normally I would really like. I thought it had a lotta potential. But, for some reason, it was just horrible. Like, I didn’t even smile once, let alone laugh – it was so bad.

Beth: Oh no. What was it about?

Miguel: Well, I wouldn’t wanna ruin it for you, but basically it’s a stupid, stupid, stupid story about a guy who invents something and makes a lotta money – that’s Jack Black, and his friend who, you know, doesn’t invent anything and doesn’t get rich, and he’s really jealous and envious of the guy’s success. But, it’s just, there’s nothing about it that turns into a good story at all. It’s just pure stupidity.

Beth: What a waste of a great cast.

Miguel: Yeah. That’s the way I felt. I just wonder sometimes, like, how do those movies get, get made? I can’t believe anyone would spend any money to pay those actors to be in that film.

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Discussion

I’m glad to hear from Miguel that Envy is a bad movie. I was actually thinking about seeing it, because the previews made it look like it was really funny. I like both Ben Stiller and Jack Black, so I assumed a movie with both of them would be hilarious. Unfortunately, it sounds like it didn’t work out that way.
If you’re in the mood for a good Ben Stiller movie, check out Meet the Parents or Something About Mary. And for Jack Black, see School of Rock or High Fidelity.
See you at the movies!
Zach