Anger Management Movie Review:


One of Hollywood's most respected actors squares off against one of comedies biggest talents for a little therapy.

Adam Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a reserved and belittled executive assistant who meets Dr Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) on an airplane. No matter what Dave does he can't relax and enjoy the flight. He is ignored by the flight attendant and Dr Buddy begins to irritate him.

Trying to remain calm and reserved, Dave watches as a little situation on board explodes into an incident. Dave ends up in court for supposedly assaulting a flight attendant. Dave is sentenced to under-go "anger-management" therapy but much to his dismay it ends up that Dr. Buddy is his therapist. If Dave is to stay away from a prison sentence he has to put up with the annoying and eccentric Buddy Rydell 24-7. How will Dave escape Buddy's clutches? Is there some hidden meaning and actual therapy within Buddy's eccentric behavior? Can Dave also hang on to the woman he loves through this ordeal?

Anger Management is like a lot of comedies today. There are pinnacles where the comedy may make you fall out of your chair and at other times bore you to tears. The trend in comedies today seems to be primarily focused on the "comedic setup" and not on telling a story or making us remember the whole film. Comedy writers don't seem to know how to keep the hi-jinx and hilarity coming anymore. Anger Management is a perfect example of that trend at its finest.

Anger Management's other problem lies in what it does with supporting characters. There are hardly any here unless they are cameos or tools to keep the film going. Dave's girlfriend, played by Marisa Tomei, is a perfect example of that. The film could have used her more intelligently if she and Dave had been living together already. There could have been a lot more jokes involving her. This would have also made the film's ending a lot more plausible.

I really enjoyed the monastery scene, screeching to a halt on the bridge and the Heather Graham cameo but for the most part I felt the film focused too much on Sandler and Nicholson. The writers could have learned a couple tricks by watching a couple John Hughes comedies like "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and "The Great Outdoors". In each of those films, there is a square-off between two men but their supporting characters aid the progress of the film and they aren't used just as a tool. The Hughes comedies knew how much time there should be between the big laughs.

It's safe to day that Sandler's best film is still "Happy Gilmore" and that Nicholson was a lot funnier in "As Good as It Gets".(3 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

The thought of pairing up Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler in an off-the-wall comedy seemed like a winning formula. The duo shares some
efficient comedic chemistry with each other in "Anger Management", but the film itself is another dumb-witted and unlaughable Adam Sandler project.

Sandler plays Dave Buznik, who is a mild-mannered New York executive that is too nice to people. Dave also has hidden fears, such as not wanting to kiss his girlfriend, Linda (Tomei), in public due to his troubled childhood experiences. While on a flight back to New York from a conference, Dave is arrested for assault after mildly touching a flight attendant to get some headphones. He is then ordered by the courts to receive anger management therapy under the care of Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson). The normally calm
Dave has his nerves pushed to the limit with his new therapist’s wacky methods and intuitions. Rydell himself moves in with Dave, sleeps in the
same bed with him, makes him sing songs from "West Side Story" for esteem, and also flirts with his girlfriend. Is this all part of Rydell’s crazy
methodology or is he actually the one that needs therapy? The story then seems to want to turn into a buddy road movie for a moment, and then it winds
up ending very poorly at a traditional New York landmark.

The premise of "Anger Management" seemed like it was conceived by Sandler himself and then writer David Dorfman was hired to make Sandler’s idea into a script with director Peter Segal brought aboard to put it on the screen. Sandler also stood as the film’s executive producer, in which has also stared and produced other terrible comedies such as "The Waterboy", "Big Daddy", "Little Nicky", and "Mr. Deeds". "Anger Management" can be added right into the thick of this group. The writing and jokes are stale along with the premise being scattered all over the place. Of course the script takes ideal Sandler shots at stereotypes, the mentally challenged, and religious differences. The characters are feathers, the outcome is flaky, and the film itself just doesn’t deliver much amusement. Segal, who directed "The Naked Gun 33 1/3", and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" doesn’t help matters by his inconsistent direction. The cheesy and over the top ending his worst choice
and moment of the film.

There is really no explanation as to why Jack Nicholson was involved in this production. Maybe he just wanted a break away from his turn in "About
Schmidt" or he might be trying the comedy thing like Robert De Niro did with "Analyze This" and "Meet the Parents." Nicholson is so great that you can’t help but like him as the zany Dr. Buddy Rydell. The wicked eyebrows and the devilish grin are back in full force. As Dave, Adam Sandler returns to the same type of one-dimensional character he always plays. After wooing critics
with his brilliant performance in "Punch Drunk Love," Sandler goes back to the type of role that his fan base love. Marisa Tomei is minimized to the
underdeveloped girlfriend role as Linda and Sandler’s "Punch Drunk Love" co-star Luis Guzman arises as one of Dr. Rydell’s other anger management patients. Many celebrity cameos also arise throughout the film, which include Bobby Knight, Woody Harrelson, Heather Graham, and Rudy Giuliani. The celebrity cameos are also exhausted throughout the film, even with the famous "You can do it!" Sandler line that is deliver by one of the celebrity cameos in the film.

The only notable elements of "Anger Management" are seeing Jack Nicholson being himself along with the chemistry between him and Sandler. As a comedy, the film is unfunny and typical material surfaces that has been played out so many times by Sandler and his producers. It doesn’t seem like Sandler is going stop either, this movie is going to make a lot of money and as long as Sandler’s fan base continue to pay money to see him, he is going to keep doing these same type of movies.

Grade: D

Joseph Tucker

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