[year/rating] 2003 PG-13 [genre] Comedy [director] Peter Segal [starring] Jack Nicholson Adam Sandler Marisa Tomei Woody Harrelson

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Summary Capsule

Not-so-angry guy gets rage counseling from Easy Rider, who eats breakfast 300 yards away from soldiers who are trained to kill him, and wants to know where Batman gets those wonderful toys.

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Justin's Rating: Five light blue pills, and two of the big fat white ones
Justin's Review: In retrospect, it’s so blindingly obvious that we wonder why it hasn’t been done before: getting two actors who are famous for playing (and being) angry, insane fools, and pit them mano-a-mano in the Iron Cage of Death. Or a film, that would do as well. In one corner is Jack Nicholson, who has played a range of vocal nutjobs ranging from the axe-wielding kind to the power-hungry military commander kind. In the other corner is Adam Sandler, a person who has built an entire film career out of gibbering loudly and hitting things.

"Heck, you should foresee putting a film of this caliber on a small altar in your household, telling your future grandchildren of that memorable day when you saw the Best Film of All Time."

So it should be good, right? It should be classic. Heck, you should foresee putting a film of this caliber on a small altar in your household, telling your future grandchildren of that memorable day when you saw the Best Film of All Time. Alas, you’ll have to hold off building that shrine until they make a sequel to Vanilla Ice’s cinematic legacy, Cool As Ice.

Mediocre comedies send wave after wave of peer pressure to you, attempting to make you feel like you should be chuckling even though your gut tells you “meh.” While Anger Management stacks the odds in its favor, it ends up being one of those comedies where the jokes are almost laugh-out-loud funny, but never seem to push the funny bone as hard as it should.

Dave (Sandler) is a meek dude who is creeping through life living, but not really living. Hey, he’s even dating Marisa Tomei, and if that isn’t a sign of social stigma, I don’t know what is. When Dave gets into a dispute in an airline, he’s forced to undergo anger management, run by grizzly Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson). Buddy apparently subscribes to the lunatic fruit basket of the month, and Dave is powerless to stop him interfering in his life as Buddy moves in with him.

Yes, this film ends up in the same genre bin as every other comedy that has your average Joe Normal Guy tormented by another character that he isn’t strong enough to stand up to. Movies like this walk a fine line between garnering sympathy for the main character and just frustrating the heck out of the audience, because we’d much rather have the match even the odds. Sandler isn’t funny as a milquetoast man, and Nicholson’s out on a limb in the funny tree until he gets a partner in insanity.

Fortunately, Buddy’s raving antics evoke the spirit of hostility that Dave’s been suppressing all these years. Bit by bit, Dave becomes an angrier guy, and gradually the movie gets more funny. It’s odd that I used to be severely annoyed at a Sandler comedies because of his rageaholic scenes, but now I realize that his films are lacking much when he tones it down.

In an era where road rage is taken for granted and about half the people I know really are in anger management, it’s some sort of sick commentary when a movie makes the statement that you aren’t normal or interesting if you keep a lid on your temper.

Comedic duos are true treasures when performed to perfection, and the Sandler/Nicholson team shows promise in upcoming seasons (that is, of course, if one of them doesn’t become so withered and ancient that only modern animatronics will be able to allow a supporting role). One of the best points in this film is when Buddy forces Dave to sing “I Feel Pretty” in the middle of rush hour traffic. Here the movie stops trying to tell a semi-serious story for a little bit and allows King Silly to reign -– and that’s exactly what we want.

As comedies are wont to do, perhaps Anger Management will enhance with age and repeated viewings, but then, perhaps we forget the lesson that Little Nicky taught us so well.

That’s right. Little… what?

Kyle's Rating: I’d prefer movie preview management so I stop seeing every funny bit before I see the movie!
Kyle's Review: I seriously wish I had never actually watched the preview for this movie, because if I hadn’t I think I would have enjoyed the film 100x more. Of course, I watched all the coming attractions that were attached to this film, including the one for The Matrix Reloaded which seemed to give away a few precious surprises and plot points as well. I’d stab out my own eyes in a Shakespearean kind of way, but legally a film reviewer can’t mention Shakespeare in a review of an Adam Sandler movie, so I’ll stop that train of thought where it’s at.

"I hate cell phone people! But now I’m one of them! Thanks a lot, Sandler!"

Yes, because I saw the Anger Management trailer and because I have a photographic memory, I could tell what was going to happen and when. It was kind of sad, and lead me to inch a little closer to the dark side: at one point, when Sandler is confronting therapist Jack Nicholson over a possible infidelity matter (you’ll see, maybe), I saw I had a cell phone message so I retrieved it while sitting there. I hate cell phone people! But now I’m one of them! Thanks a lot, Sandler!

But I don’t want to seem too bitter. Anger Management actually has some good stuff going for it. If you like Sandler and/or Nicholson, they are both having fun here and the film glides along because these two have some chemistry. Imagine that! And like any Sandler film, there are little details that are extremely funny, like the old boyfriend’s one impressive physical characteristic, or the strange impossibility of Nicholson’s head and hair: is it creasy and greasy, or just unlike any human head before it in the vast realms of history? How bizarre!

There’s some bad stuff as well. Things that practically scream out that they are supposed to be funny (celebrity cameos, the other people in anger management, a gay Kevin Nealon) are not funny at all. Marisa Tomei is as exciting (to me) as an empty and crumpled bag of potato chips. The final resolution is pretty sappy, and I can’t imagine anyone did not see that coming. At least there was no Bob Barker; I hate that Bob Barker crunch (inside Happy Gilmore jokes end)!

I’m no anger therapist, but I would understand why someone would be really angry after paying money to see Anger Management: it just isn’t as funny as it could have been. The charm and chemistry Sandler and Nicholson bring to the show is enough to make me recommend you see this movie someday, but only as a rental. And even then, talk a friend into paying for it, and then discuss the anger your friend feels for always paying for your stuff in front of the video clerk, so that it will seem like you’re riffing on the movie (like you’re giving your friend Anger Management) and the clerk will give you free money and popcorn. Could happen!

Yes, those are Woody Harrelson's panties. Why did we show this to you? We just don't want to be alone in group therapy. Game faces... ON! It's not Buddha's fault that his religion causes hair loss

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Parking in NYC sucks
• Fat cats need clothes too, and also corsettes
• Dave tells Frank Head (Kurt Fuller) to "have fun looking like Colonel Klink". In Auto Focus, Kurt Fuller played the role of Werner Klemperer, the actor who portrayed Col. Klink in "Hogan's Heroes".
• The in-flight movie that Buddy is enjoying is Tomcats
• While Dave is on his cell phone in the airport, his boss hangs up on him. You can hear a dial tone coming from Dave's phone. Cell phones don't have dial tones.
• Opening scene is set in 1978 yet the main character wears a "Dukes of Hazzard" t-shirt from no earlier than 1979.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

No.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

At the same time this movie was shooting the hospital scene on the ramps at Columbia University, Comedy Central was filming Porn 'n Chicken right outside. In fact, the graduation set for Porn 'n Chicken is in the distance outside the glass wall.

Groovy Quotes

Buddy: I'm going to have to ask you to retard your anger.

Buddy: Temper's the one thing you can't get rid of, by losing it.

Buddy: In Europe, it's not considered unusual for three or four men to share a bed.
Dave: That's why I'm proud to be an American...

Buddy: [throws a plate of eggs across the room] I SAID OVER EASY! ...Now why did I do that?
Dave: Because I refused to spoon with you last night?

Nate: Ohh, the anger sharks are swimming in my head!

Buddy: Sarcasm is anger's ugly cousin.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Big Daddy
• Billy Madison
• Happy Gilmore