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ANGER MANAGEMENT
Review by Mark Walters SANDLER IS BACK THE WAY WE WANT HIM
The
always brilliant John Turturro shows up as an obviously troubled anger patient
named Chuck, who at one point is partnered up with Dave, and ends up just
making matters worse. Also look for Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas
Anderson regular Luis Guzman plays a flamboyantly gay anger patient that
always has something to say. Allen Covert, who is frequently used in
Sandler's films, does a good job playing the slimy over-bearing guy friend to
Linda. Kevin Nealon briefly portrays Dave's unhelpful lawyer, though he
disappears halfway through the film never to be seen again. The unbelievably
sexy Krista Allen appears in a few scenes as one of two porn star patients in
Dr. Rydell's group. You may also notice a few cameos by actors like Woody
Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Harry Dean Stanton and Heather Graham, along with
sports figures like John McEnroe and Bobby Knight, and even former New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The film is directed by Peter Segal, who won big with
TOMMY BOY, but has been linked with lesser hits like THE NUTTY
PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS.
Images copyright REVOLUTION STUDIOS and COLUMBIA PICTURES 2003 BIGFANBOY.com score - On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I give ANGER MANAGEMENT a 9. See our FILM REVIEW ARCHIVE by clicking here!
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Adam Sandler's film
career began (not unlike Jim Carrey's) with a bang, and it wasn't long before
his films had acquired a loyal following of adoring fans. In recent years
however his cinematic efforts felt either too strange, or just not what
audiences really hoped for from the star. The disastrous LITTLE NICKY
was almost enough to make me swear off Sandler for good. Fortunately his
latest effort ANGER MANAGEMENT may just be the comeback he needed to
show everyone the Sandman's still got it. Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a
lifelong weakling who never stands up to anyone that taunts him. While
traveling on a business trip, a simple request from a flight attendant is
mistaken as a show of rage, and before we know it Dave is in court being
sentenced to 20 days of Anger Management therapy, which seems silly since he
appears to be anything but angry. He's sent to Dr. Buddy (Nicholson) Rydell,
who turns out to be a somewhat unorthodox therapist with an eccentric group of
patients. Rydell ends up moving in with Dave, saying that extreme methods are
required to effectively cure this problem. This comes at a bad time, since
Dave is dealing with his girlfriend Linda (Tomei) wanting him to be more
aggressive at work, not to mention her all-too-agressive guy friend Andrew
(Covert), and a boss (Fuller) that only seems to complain. Once Buddy begins
using his radical methods, Dave starts to question his new doctor's abilities,
and begins to wonder if Rydell is some sort of scam artist. He almost wonders
if the good doctor needs more therapy than he does.
ANGER MANAGEMENT doesn't do anything too out of the
ordinary, but it sure is funny. Nicholson and Sandler exhibit great chemistry
onscreen, and both men appear comfortable enough to portray their respective
characters in perfect form. Sandler is always best when he plays an underdog
surrounded by adversaries, and does a good job making us want to see him win.
Nicholson is of course a natural when playing the devilish doctor, and there
are moments where we (like Dave) wonder if the man is really who he pretends
to be. Tomei is looking good here, (especially considering she's pushing 40)
and won my heart despite little screen time.
Segal sticks with what's
funny here, whether it be physical comedy or just safe bet sight gags like a
very overweight cat in a ridiculous purple sweater. There are plenty of
laughs in the movie, which distract us enough to ignore some of it's formulaic
aspects. If there are any faults to speak of, they're in the film's lack of
resolve to a few established issues. The ending seems to hurry itself in
order to get to one major event, which is somewhat unfortunate since it
glosses over a persona from Sandler we've been waiting trough the whole film
to see. ANGER MANAGEMENT works because Sandler and Nicholson work.
When these two are together onscreen it's gold. Thankfully Segal spends a
majority of the time focusing on their chemistry. I have no doubt this flick
will do well, and it should. Sandler reminds us why we liked him to begin
with... even if it takes a little help from Jack.