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Anger Management (2003)

I don't get it. I have never been able to understand why people find Adam Sandler funny, although he does manage to surprise me sometimes. Even so, his movies can be entertaining, thanks largely to the decent supporting cast, rather than the script materials themselves. This time he is teamed up with Jack Nicholson, who is not known for slapstick humor, but is nevertheless a versatile actor. Will Anger Management rise above the usual Sandler fare that we have come to know so well, or will it be just another mediocre comedy we can discard as soon as we exit the theater?

It just isn't Dave Buznik's day. All he wants is a headset so he can watch the movie playing on the airplane, but things quickly spiral out of control from there, and before he realizes what is happening, he is sitting in court while the judge sentences him to participate in twenty hours of anger management therapy. The person in charge of the sessions is one Dr. Buddy Rydell, a renowned clinical psychologist with some unorthodox methods in treating his patients. As Dr. Rydell invades in every aspects of Dave's private life, Dave must keep his temper or face jail time if he fails the evaluation.

"There are two kinds of angry people, explosive and implosive."

Apparently writer David Dorfman has no trouble making fun of and insulting anything and anyone he can get his hands on in Anger Management. The jokes range from the tasteless to the somewhat amusing, but more often than not they are mean spirited rather than funny. The endless barrage of penis cracks becomes so tiresome that I found myself grimacing instead of laughing at them. Of course, who can forget the not so subtle references to Sandler's other movies. The plot is mostly nonsensical and serves only to take the characters from one point to the next, with the hopes to squeeze out a few chuckles in the process. The ending is mawkishly sentimental and will probably have you rolling your eyes at the corniness of the whole thing.

Adam Sandler plays the soft-spoken Dave Buznik, a guy who is intensely paranoid about showing affection in public. His portrayal and delivery is practically a carbon copy of most of his prior roles; the differences between Dave and Sonny Koufax and Bobby Boucher are small if any at all. Jack Nicholson, on the other hand, seems to have a lot of fun with Dr. Buddy Rydell, an eccentric man who lives by his own rules. Nicholson by far is the most comical character of the bunch, and I would not mind seeing him paired up with Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson in the future. This is not to say that Sandler and Nicholson did not display any chemistry between the two of them, the most hilarious scene has got to be them singing a duet of "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story. Unfortunately, those moments are rare. Marisa Tomei plays Sandler's love interest Linda. The notable cameos this time around consist of Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly.

Anger Management plays like most of the previous Adam Sandler comedies, if you enjoy his routines, this will probably fit right in. I, however, was not amused by the experience. Laughs came only in fits and spurts for me, most of the time I sat wondering when the next punch line will be and how much longer the movie will drag on. There is nothing special here. At best you'll have a good time, at worst you'll feel like you just wasted two hours. My money is on the latter.

- Zalasta

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