Last year, Adam Sandler made what most critics think is his best
film, but his fans hated it. The film I’m talking about is
”
Punch Drunk Love.
”
Last year, Adam Sandler made what most critics think is his best film, but his fans hated it. The film I’m talking about is “Punch Drunk Love.”
Paul Thomas Anderson, the brilliant filmmaker responsible for “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia,” saw something beautiful in Sandler’s regular character attributes, the idea of him being both vulnerable emotionally, as well as inclined to snap with a violent temper, and wrote a fine script to help us empathize with his sadly confused character.
“Punch Drunk Love” showed Sandler could move us emotionally by exposing his inner pain, but his core audience, the one responsible for his astounding success as a movie star, hated it and stayed away in droves. The film made a little money, but nothing like the numbers for the “classic” Sandler comedies like “Happy Gilmore” and “Little Nicky.”
Adam Sandler’s new film is a return to form, which means his true fans will love it and critics will hate it. Count me among the latter, for “Anger Management” is loud, obnoxious and absolutely unfunny. The concept, although inspired, lacks a credible story and instead increases the toilet humor.
Sandler plays the calm and mild-mannered Dave Buznik, who as the film starts has just received a promotion at work. Relaxing in his chair and being affable just before an airline flight, Dave is pushed through a strange and weird series of predicaments where he is diagnosed as a person filled with pent-up rage, which in fact isn’t the case.
Despite Dave’s conviction that he does not have an anger management problem, he is ordered to undergo therapy with the world’s most famous anger specialist, Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson).
To enhance the comedy quotient, Nicholson’s character is the one who can’t keep his anger under control, while constantly berating Dave to calm down. Of course, Dave is calm and the Doctor is out of control, which is the premise that the comedy is built upon. None of it works very well, so, although the idea could have worked, the execution and writing dumbs the comedy down.
The film steadily goes downhill, with our hero Dave going to his first anger management seminar where the patients are all played by famous celebrities in cameo, never a good sign. Luis Guzman, from “Punch Drunk Love,” and John Turturro, play superficial characters with anger problems. Heather Graham shows up, as does former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani in an obvious attempt to use his celebrity to prop up the film.
Also on tap and extremely unfunny are Woody Harrelson as a homosexual drag queen and John C. Rielly as a Buddhist monk who gets abused. The most embarrassing moment of of the film is provided by former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, who – surprise – still can’t control his anger.
The film makes the argument that Dave must actually trump up more anger to enable him to better make his way in the world. This leads to the invitable trouble his “anger” gets him into, which includes the obligatory bar fight and court sequence where he gets to explain his side to the judge.
Nicholson’s character could be the worst he’s ever played because for the first time I can remember, he seems to be superficial – his character isn’t developed, and Jack the reliable doesn’t bring his character to life, perhaps for the first time. Almost all the time, Nicholson can bring something true to a character that will transcend the problems with the screenplay. This time, with “Anger Management,” nothing he tries helps.
ANGER MANAGEMENT. Directed by Peter Segal. Written by David Dorfman. With Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, Woody Harrelson and John C. Rielly. Rated PG-13 (could be R for extremely crude sexual content and harsh language). 100 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
