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NOW P L AY I N G ANGER MANAGEMENT (Sony Pictures), Rated PG-13 Anger Management is a film that pairs the unlikely duo of Jack Nicholson (hot from his critically praised performance in About Schmitt) and Adam Sandler (fresh from getting good reviews for his acting, believe it or not, in Punch Drunk Love) with a script ostensibly about a very real therapeutic concern. A large percentage of the populace has anger management “issues,” but it would have been silly to expect any insights or revelations on the subject from the director (Peter Segal) who gave the world Tommy Boy and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. Segal is going for laughs here, and he wants to keep the audience on edge about who really needs the therapy more, mild-mannered ad exec Dave Buznik (Sandler) or unconventional, abrasive therapist Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson). Segal is only sporadically successful with these aims. The hapless Buznik is on a flight one day and, after another passenger refuses to vacate Dave’s rightful seat, ends up seated next to the odd, unhinged-looking Rydell. A contrived altercation results in Dave being blamed for assaulting a flight attendant, and he soon finds himself in court facing a no-nonsense judge (Lynne Thigpen). Dave’s ordered to attend an anger management session with Rydell, who presides over a motley crew of screwballs that include Luis Guzman, John Turturro (a guy with serious anger problems), and a pair of lovey-dovey porn chicks that are really into public displays of finger sucking. Dave is glad when the session ends, but events conspire to force him into further treatment with Rydell. In fact, another altercation ends up with Dave facing either prison time, or taking Rydell as his full-time live-in therapist.
Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler star in a disappointing Anger Management. Photo courtesy Sony Pictures. This is just one of many credulity-straining events to come. Rydell doesn’t seem to be following any standard “anger management techniques” with Dave; he’s abrasive, frustrating, and downright weird. When he makes lewd comments to Dave’s girlfriend, Linda (Marisa Tomei), and goads Dave into doing seemingly irrational things like hitting on another woman at a bar (Heather Graham, in one of several curious cameos), you’re left really wondering what the doc is up to, and why Dave keeps putting up with it. As well, you’re wondering what the hell the director is trying to do, as the plot continually frustrates the viewer and makes Rydell seem wackier than Dave. There are some laughs, to be sure, but most are of the lowbrow variety. Some are just jaw-droppingly weird, as when Woody Harrelson turns up as a German crossdresser...or something. Nicholson is in shining mode here for the most part; he’s edgy, irritating, and unpredictable, and we’re supposed to wonder if it’s just part of the treatment, or if this doc is a quack. The surprise is that Adam Sandler actually underacts, and I can’t believe I’m saying that. I’ve never been a Sandler fan, but he genuinely seems to be trying to learn a bit of craft lately, and he plays a decent, sincere character that is mostly free of “Sandler-isms.” His meekness contrasting with Nicholson’s bizarreness is one of the film’s conceptual twists, but it’s not as effective as the filmmakers think because of some poorly wrought scenes and childish humor
that tend to undercut the proceedings. The many surprise cameos are entertaining, but gimmicky. John Turturro is a hoot in his brief scenes; this guy seems incapable of giving a bad performance. My biggest problem with Anger Management was the waste of the theme. Therapy is a subject ripe for parody; even Analyze This scored more points then this film on the topic. I think it was a mistake to contrive Sandler’s treatment in the manner depicted here; what he’s made to go through seems misguided and sadistic, reflecting more on the “issues” everyone else around him seems to have. And there’s no real revelation at the end, despite an interesting climactic romantic scene set in a baseball stadium. But hey, if you like cheap comedies and Jack Nicholson having a good time, you might enjoy parts of Anger Management. Oh, and that “goosfraba” word? They don’t explain where it came from, but it’s as good a word as any to say to yourself next time you wanna slug somebody, run some asshole off the road, or tell your boss/coworker what you really think. Popularizing an obscure word is likely to be this film’s lasting cultural contribution. —Kevin Renick CONFIDENCE (Lions Gate Films, Rated R) “So I’m dead.” Thus begins the flashback confession of Jake Vig (played by Edward Burns) as he lays motionless in a filthy alley behind an even filthier bar. Confidence is a film about the seedier side of the streets, a world filled with two kinds of people, con artists and marks (the latter a term used by the former to mean victim), with a considerable amount of crossover between the two. This film has a dash of Snatch and a pinch of Pulp Fiction, but its main ingredient is more in keeping with the maturity and (albeit grittier) elegance of The Sting. There are times during this movie when we don’t have the slightest idea what is going on, but there is always the comfort—that quiet confidence—that Jake Vig does. There are some incredibly good actors in this film, although a few of them do feel miscast.
