Anger Management (2003)

Lighten up, fellow reviewers! ANGER MANAGEMENT is lighthearted comedy--not neurosurgery. I had zero expectations going into this movie, but as soon as the hilarious plane scene unfolded I found myself watching with an ear-to-ear grin on my mug.

I've seen Adam Sandler in numerous movies (and hated most of them), but as humble, wishy-washy Dave Buznik, Sandler is at his low-key best. Buznik is the last person to have an anger management problem, but following a fateful series of miscues (and hysterically funny miscues at that) he is ordered by a judge to attend an anger management course. And this is not just any old course: This is a course led by the unorthodox and dysfunctional Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson's inherent creepiness is perfect for this role). Nicholson and Sandler play off one another in grand fashion; the goofy therapist pushing the mild-mannered Buznik to the edge--and beyond--is mucho fun to watch!

An added delight to this campy comedy is the plethora of camoes, including John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson (also hysterically funny), Rudy Giuliani, and New York Yankee greats (and ex-greats) Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens. ANGER MANAGEMENT is pure fun, complete with milquetoast ending and wacky Nicholson facial expressions. Enjoy!

--D. Mikels, Author, THE RECKONING

With that frazzled hair, that just-swallowed-the-canary grin, and that sly, mischievous, devil-may-care gleam in his eye, Jack Nicholson does the controlled-mania shtick better than anyone working in movies today. But even his presence isn't enough to prevent "Anger Management" from emerging as a decidedly unfunny comedy, one that ends up wasting the talents of Adam Sandler, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, Woody Harrelson and Luis Guzman as well.

The David Dorfman screenplay is yet another of those "high concept" package deals replete with contrived plots and big-name movie stars in the leads that look irresistible to all those corporate green-lighters at the studio, but which fall to pieces the moment they come to fruition on the big screen. Sandler plays a mild-mannered, put-upon schnook who is unfairly and inexplicably convicted of assaulting a stewardess on an airplane. Much to Sandler's chagrin, the court consigns him to the care of Nicholson, a well-known anger management specialist who is more certifiably psychotic than the patients he is ostensibly helping. The strained, manufactured plot is little more than an excuse to give Nicholson a chance to chew the scenery and Sandler to act bemused, befuddled and benumbed. Unfortunately, that's pretty much how the audience feels after 106 minutes of nonstop crudity, predictability and over-the-top ranting. Director Peter Segal tries desperately to make the whole enterprise come across as madcap, witty and anarchic, but with virtually every single joke and set-up fizzling and sputtering out, the film ends up feeling merely chaotic and desperate.

The filmmakers have peppered their movie with any number of cameo appearances by some famous real life New Yorkers, but their performances are so thoroughly inept and wretched that "Anger Management" begins to feel more like amateur night at the Roxy than a multimillion-dollar Hollywood production. This is most acutely felt in the painfully awkward and embarrassingly mawkish climactic moments played out, stereotypically, before a packed house at Yankee Stadium (didn't we see this scene a few years back in "Never Been Kissed"?). Moreover, the "surprise" ending requires that we suspend disbelief more than is advisable even for a film of this nature, which could never expect us to believe for a fleeting moment anything that is going on here.

In what is a bizarre fluke of fate, I suppose, "Anger Management" turns out to be the second film in recent months to feature characters massacring and mangling the Bernstein and Sondheim song "I Feel Pretty" from "West Side Story." What I said about this phenomenon in my review of "Analyze That" holds true here as well: that filmmakers with a dubious movie on their hands should avoid reminding us of a much better film while we are being asked to suffer through theirs. It only makes the experience that much more painful.

Buy Anger Management (2003) Now

Possible Spoilers Ahead:

I have to admit that I am not a big Adam Sandler fan. However, I saw the trailers and I was intrigued by the thought of Sandler playing a regular guy to an over-the-top Jack Nicholson. About halfway through the movie, I had trouble following the storyline. I think this was due to Sandler playing his mild mannered Dave Buznik character too calm in the beginning. While I understand the concept of a guy who internalizes his anger (which is why he was a candidate for Anger Management classes), even guys who internalize their anger show some frustration when there are problems. I thought Buznik's overly calm reactions seemed unrealistic during the entire flight attendant hostility `over the headset' episode. I suppose Sandler was trying to go for no reactions at first and building up, over the course of the movie, to more obvious displays of anger (like the fight with his grade school nemesis turned Buddhist monk), but he started out so overly calm at the beginning, it was hard for me to understand whether he was acting or not. While the West Side Story 'I Feel Pretty' bit had some amusing possibilities, the Buznik character started well (frazzled at being forced to stop on the bridge and sing for his bizarre therapist), but the singing soon became too much like Sandler doing his singing bits for SNL, and not Buznik trying to placate his therapist so he could get to work. This may explain why some of the other reviewers gave this movie a thumbs down. I did find the second half more entertaining, mainly because I thought the Buznik character seemed to be reacting in a more realistic fashion to hostility directed at him. I didn't mind the final scene at Yankee Stadium, but I didn't think the cameos from the baseball players were required. While it was nice to see Rudy Giullani, that part could have also gone to someone playing just a regular guy in the stands rooting for the guy to propose to the girl at these sporting events (I didn't think all of the cameos were required or added anymore laughs to the film).

Overall, this movie has some entertainment value (good as a rental), better for the die-hard Adam Sandler fans.

Read Best Reviews of Anger Management (2003) Here

Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler star as the creepy anger-management therapist and the mild-mannered participant in his class by court order, respectively.

An interesting premise and supremely talented leads lead one to think that this might be a great, biting comedy. Instead, it simply degenerates into a standard, predictable romantic comedy with bland jokes, including the inhumanly severe wedgies.

The last third of the film is so unbelievably overwraught and unconvincing that it's woeful. If you can't tell what's coming, boy I think you ought to see more than one movie a year. The final act is a totally by the numbers, autopilot affair. Crowd-pleasing? Sure. It's amazing how audiences will flock to a movie that pushes the same buttons in the same order. I'm sorry, when a movie follows this formula so rigidly, I feel offended

A frustrating mess of wasted talent and wasted potential that could have been saved with a decent number of legitimate laughs if not with a screenplay that had exhibited the wit and originality of the Hollywood pitch.

Want Anger Management (2003) Discount?

The story is just ok until the plot twist is revealed which is the most contrived and unbelievable. It is almost as if the final plot surprise was written after the movie was screened.

The con-game surprise ending really wipes out an already poor excuse for comedy.

Save 40% Off