Anger Management Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)April 3rd, 2003
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Picking up where Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love left off, Anger Management once again inserts a passive-aggressive Adam Sandler character into various situations that make him leap from mild-mannered drudge to raving lunatic that kicks in sliding glass doors and punches holes in his office wall. Frankly, I'm still completely baffled over the reactions to Sandler in Love (the critics who usually roast him loved it, while his fans thought the flick was a steaming pile), especially when you consider his Barry Egan wasn't too far removed from any other character he has played over the years.
Where Love emphasized incongruous romance, Management highlights bizarre comedy much the same way it was achieved in Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Sandler's Dave Buznik is a regular, unassuming nine-to-fiver who could probably complain about a few aspects of his life but opts to accentuate the positive instead. Dave is about to receive a big promotion at work and seems close to proposing marriage to his frisky poet girlfriend Linda (Marisa Tomei, The Guru).
If you've seen Management's trailer, you already know its funniest scene, which also happens to portray the moment where Dave's life becomes unhinged. While flying to St. Louis on a business trip, Dave's quiet requests for a pair of headphones are mistaken for air rage (the repeated "This is a troubled time for our nation" line is pure gold). Found guilty of physically assaulting a flight attendant, Dave is sentenced to 20 hours of anger management therapy with the controversial Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt), whose unorthodox methods have made him a legend.
Instead of coasting through the treatment (which includes a group session made up of the likes of a scary John Turturro and a flaming Luis Guzmán), the implosive Dave finds himself deeper and deeper in trouble with both his shrink and the law. A nasty barfight almost lands him in the clink for a year, but Rydell convinces the judge to let Dave off with 30 days of intensive treatment, which involves the two spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together. And before you can say, "Those aren't pillows," Dave's life is turned upside-down by the constant presence of the psychotic Rydell.
While the last 15 minutes are crammed full of the inevitable corniness one must expect from a mainstream romantic comedy, even the slowest viewer should be able to see through Rydell's "treatment," which makes Dave angry and dumb. Management is full of odd cameos and features a very shocking (yet incredibly flat) rendition of Sandler's compulsory "You can do it!" motivational final reel shout-out. That said, the film is likely to return Sandler to his pre-Love standing among the moviegoing majority. I just can't see anyone but Happy Gilmore fans digging on Woody Harrelson in drag or Sandler and Nicholson dueting on selections from West Side Story.
1:34 - PG-13 on appeal for crude sexual content and language
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