Review: Anger Management (2003)

ANGER MANAGEMENT (2003)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: One star and a half

What can you say about a movie when Adam Sandler shows more restraint than
loose cannon Jack Nicholson? Not very much, I'm  afraid. Though I'd hardly call
"Anger Management" Adam Sandler's worst comedy, it is definitely one of his
weakest. With a dependable premise and a promising cast, the film sinks without
ever adhering to its own ideas. 

I hate to use the same old phrase that most critics use but this film does have
a great premise. Adam Sandler plays Dave Buznik, an employee for some
conglomerate who has just received a promotion. His girlfriend (Marisa Tomei?)
is excited by his job success but is dismayed that he can hardly reciprocate
the love they share. Then on an airplane flight, Dave asks for a headset so he
can watch the in-flight movie. He keeps asking until finally he ends up in a
scuffle with the airline stewardess. This scene is funny because Sandler uses
whatever expert timing he has to deliver the right facial reaction, and his
slow burn segueing to slowly mumbling his words with quiet ease before erupting
is stimulating to watch. This is, of course, what audiences expect from Mr.
Sandler, his anger resulting in beating the heck out of everyone around him. 

But then we are left with arched-eyebrowed, goateed Jack Nicholson as a doctor
with anger management experience who wants to cure Dave's boiling
temper-tantrums. We are introduced to peripheral characters who do nothing
except induce severe groans (at least they do to me). John Turturro, Heather
Graham (mouthing chocolate cake and mumbling) and Luiz Guzman play such arcane
stereotypes that I was amazed not one of them could make me crack a smirk. Even
reliable John C. Reilly, as a reformed Buddhist monk, literally kicks some butt
but to no end. Like most of the movie, the idea is funny but the execution is
wanting. 

"Anger Management" has maybe two scenes that offer a chuckle or two - one is
Sandler's response when he discovers Nicholson wants to date his girlfriend.
The other is Sandler and Nicholson's duet to a song from "West Side Story." A
few unusual cameos by John McEnroe and Rudolph Guiliani simply mark time -
nothing comes of them. The movie has as little to do with anger management as
it does with surrounding Sandler with guest star cameos and over-the-top
mugging. And to show how the movie eradicates its original concept, it ends as
yet another mediocre romantic comedy! What the film needs is strictly narrative
and comedic management.


For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
http://www.geocities.com/faustus_08520/Jerry_at_the_Movies.html 

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X-RT-RatingText: 1.5/4