Duplex

Being a big Ben Stiller fan, it breaks my heart to whip my lowest rating on one of his films. Director Danny DeVito delivers his second stinker in a row after Death to Smoochy, and Stiller has a big, unfortunate presence within it. He stars as a new owner of a Manhattan duplex burdened with a horrible upstairs neighbor. He and his wife (a wasted Drew Barrymore) look to rid themselves of their horrible tenant, even if it means committing murder. Not one solid laugh as DeVito pilots a talented cast through a screenplay wasteland. With this junk (and with Envy co-starring Jack Black in limbo) Stiller’s career is in a bit of trouble at the moment.