| Anger Management |
| �Anger Management� is not only one of the most aggravating movie experiences I�ve ever gone through, but also one of the most aggravating experiences (in all my life) I�ve ever gone through. This is a good thing though. How, you ask, is this good? When I said aggravating, I didn�t mean in terms of quality. I meant that the character that Jack Nicholson plays is so real (and he is meant to be annoying), that he gets under your skin and makes you feel uncomfortable and extremely aggravated, which is all to the film�s credit. He is probably the most nerve-racking person I have ever seen on any film. But this is a comedy right? Yes. So is it funny? Yes, it is very funny at some points. The reason it is so funny, is because it is so aggravating. I might sound like I am contradicting myself but if you have seen films like �What About Bob�, and �Trains, Plains, and Automobiles�, and thought they were funny (I didn�t care for �Bob� at all, but I know other people that loved it), you might know why aggravation in a film can be a good thing. It is to Sandler�s credit how made the situations in this film so comedic, by his extremely normal reactions to an extremely abnormal man. We all react the same way Sandler does to Jack Nicholson�s strange, annoying, and absurd ways. Since we can identify with Sandler�s character so much, the film succeeds for the most part. Dave Buznik (Sandler) is put into Anger Management sessions through very strange means, and you can guess whom the man running the sessions is (Nicholson). After a while, Dave�s life is now not in his own control. Because of a horrible situation that really wasn�t Dave�s fault (it was his psychotic partner�s he was paired up with in Anger Management), Dave is convicted of a crime, and ends up with Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), the man who is running the anger sessions, living in his house. Of course, this leads to unbelievably strange, embarrassing (yes, very aggravating too, if you were wondering when I was going to say that word next) situations. In one scene, Rydell begins throwing out all of Buznik�s �angry music�. Buznik reacts by asking why �The Carpenters� is considered angry music. There are certain scenes in this film that I can guarantee will be declared classic scenes like the �I Feel Pretty� singing sequence and a couple others. There will also be parts that will remind us of Sandler�s old days of comedy, such as where he beats up a monk and etc. Fortunately, those moments are in the minority of the film. There are lots of sexual innuendoes in the film, which partially pulls it down from being something better. A little less than half the lines have to do with sexually oriented humor, and I�m not a huge fan of breast and penis jokes. If you look at everything from a distance this is a comedy above average and worth going to but nothing really special. This is one of Adam Sandler�s better performances because he shows he actually has a range of emotions and isn�t always a babbling fool who hits stuff a lot, as he was in a lot of his other films. There is also some good chemistry between him and Marisa Tomei. They make a fairly cute couple. Jack Nicholson and she do not (You will find out what I mean when you watch the film). Nicholson is what makes the film though. Isn�t he always what makes the film? Think of �As Good as it Gets�, �Chinatown�, �One Flew Over the Cuckoo�s Nest�, and many others. He�s one of the best actors of our time, that�s a given. Although he won�t be up for an Academy Award or anything for his portrayal of Dr. Buddy Rydell, he still gives us a great show. We�ve all met people like Dr. Buddy Rydell, and when we�re around them, we can�t stand them at all. But when we look at them bugging another person and we don�t have to interact with them, it is most likely that we will laugh our heads off. That is what you can do when you watch �Anger Management�, but just make sure you don�t put yourself in the awful situations that Buddy Rydell puts Dave Buznik in. You�ll despise the film more than �Battlefield Earth�, if that�s possible. Most of the morals explored in the film, are definitely not exemplary behavior. Dr. Rydell puts Mr. Buznik in a situation where he is more than tempted to have sex with a girl even when he has a girlfriend, but luckily, Mr. Buznik refuses. Woody Harrelson plays a cross dresser that does some�interesting things, two porn stars are homosexual lovers, and other assorted warped values are documented, if not glorified. If ignored though, there is a little something we can learn from the film. God needs to be our anger manager, and we need to go to him when we are in trouble. And when someone like Dr. Rydell tries to put us in horrible situations, we can go to God. God said that he would never put us in temptation too hard to overcome. If we are forced into things like Dave Buznik, it�s obviously not our fault, and the Lord knows that. He will always give us the strength we need to resist whatever comes our way. |
| United States, 2003 U.S. Release Date: 4/11/03 (wide) Running Length: 1:43 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, sexual situations) Cast: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro Director: Peter Segal Producers: Barry Bernardi, Derek Dauchy, Todd Garner, Jack Giarraputo, John Jacobs, Joe Roth Screenplay: David Dorfman Cinematography: Donald McAlpine Music: Teddy Castellucci U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures |