Anger Management Starring Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson Directed by Peter Segal Rated PG-13 for crude sexual content and language 3/4 out of Stars, Movie Grade: B

Theatrical Release: April 11, 2003
Running time: 101 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Directed by Peter Segal, who had previously directed 1995's "Tommy Boy," "Anger Management" starred Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. The film was about a man named Dave Buznik (Sandler), who undeservedly winds up in an intense anger management program run by Jack Nicholson's character, Dr. Buddy Rydell.

The film was more enjoyable than Sandler's last comedic effort, "Mr. Deeds" (2002), which never let the audience settle into the story nearly as much as this film did. Even if much of the settling came close to the end, the resolution was a pleasing closing to a sporadically humorous film.

Most of the humor in "Anger Management" came through crude sexual jokes about penis size and other topics of vulgarity. So, basically it was like almost every other comedy that's released nowadays. The jokes that worked however, worked well. I just wish that there had been more of them. There were some rare original elements of humor, such as Dave working to design clothes for overweight cats. However, these moments were too infrequent to set the film apart from other similar movies.

Supporting Sandler and Nicholson, were John Turturro and Marisa Tomei. Turturro played Dave's anger ally, Chuck, who in one scene was responsible for getting Dave into a bar fight with a blind man. Turturro, a proven talented actor, pulled the role off superbly. Marisa Tomei was also enjoyable as Dave's girlfriend. It's unfortunate that the Academy Award Winner, Tomei, doesn't get more big roles in such films, because she is an easily likeable actress. If you haven't seen some of her recent work, check her out in the time travel romance "Happy Accidents" with Vincent D'Onofrio. It's definitely worth a look. I wish her part in "Anger Management" was bigger, perhaps with a little less Nicholson in the film, especially given the sudden romance in the resolution.

In the end, "Anger Management" managed to offer a few random laughs throughout, with a somewhat satisfying conclusion that masked the situational crudeness that often arose. I laughed at most of these scenes, but with the comedic and acting potential that was present in the film, it could have offered a little more.

"Anger Management" Review written April 10, 2003, CTF.

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