Anger Management (2003)

Very well executed

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is a businessman who is wrongly sentenced to an anger-management program, where he meets an aggressive instructor (Jack Nicholson).Sandler has a special kind of humor, and it is one that has matured over the years. His classics will always be "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison", but his follow-ups are pretty decent, too. This one has all the things we enjoy -- the juvenile humor, the excellent ensemble cast -- and adds in Jack Nicholson, so rarely ever makes a bad film.One thing about Sandler's films is that he tends to keep the same ensemble but rotates the leading lady (other than Drew Barrymore). This time we have Marisa Tomei, which is a stroke of genius. Obviously she knows comedy (My Cousin Vinny), but has branched out to some serious drama. In this film, she straddles both and rally grounds the humor. Her character is indispensable.

I'd be tempted to slam "Anger Management" as another slice of lighthearted, sanitized mental-illness swill from Hollywood (it does play out like "28 Days" meets "The Dream Team"), if it wasn't for Jack Nicholson's manic performance--he hasn't been this funny since "The Shining." Adam Sandler does well, and exhibits some control as a guy with problems containing his rage (I'll admit...I've never seen any of his other movies). But poor Marisa Tomei...the girl who once won an Oscar has become one-dimensional background scenery, indistinguishable from any would-be starlet. The movie's lowbrow humor and endless parade of cameos gets tedious near the end, and from the overhead shot of a packed baseball stadium that kicks off the last act, anyone who's even half-awake will be able to predict the unforgivably sappy conclusion. Average entertainment redeemed somewhat by Nicholson's inherent zaniness.

This is a comedy starring Adam Sandler, who plays a businessman wrongly sentenced to an anger-management program, where he meets aggressive instructor Buddy Rydell, played by Jack Nicholson. I saw this movie once, on a plane. It was an OK movie to pass the time during the jet ride. There are campy scenes at the expense of Sandler and the overly crazy Nicholson, mixing in to provide us with a mildly entertaining film. Marisa Tomei provided a nice balance of romance and drama, serving as Sandler's love interest. The plot was OK and the overall story was serviceable; I did find the script handling dealing with one's own anger clever, resulting in the characters serving up some good laughs and puns. The plot also didn't drag on that would have made this movie boring.Aside from some of the camp and downright silly sequences, like the monk scene, this movie is worth at least one watch. Grade C+

Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, Allen Covert, John Turturro, Woody Harrelson and Kurt Fuller star in this 2003 comedy. Sandler (Billy Madison) plays Dave Buznik, a guy who works in marketing. He has a problem of letting people control him and lacks confidence. Nicholson (The Shining) plays anger management guru, Buddy Rydell who is assigned to help Dave with his issues after getting into a mishap. Tomei (My Cousin Vinny) plays Dave's girlfriend, Linda, Turturro (Quiz Show) plays Chuck, one of Buddy's patients, Fuller (Scary Movie) plays Dave's boss, Frank and Harrelson (Doc Hollywood) plays Gary who dresses as transvestite, Galaxia and Sandler's frequent collaborator, Covert (Big Daddy) plays Linda's ex, Andrew. This is a good comedy, Sandler and Nicholson are great together and I recommend this.