Today’s film is going to be “Anger Management”, the Adam Sandler movie from the early 2000’s. This movie has the special standing in my life as being the first DVD I ever actually owned back in 2004. I currently own about 500 different DVDs/BluRays, and that number has even decreased in recent years when I offloaded some that were still worth a few bucks used. I’m sure without this movie, I certainly would’ve bought all those discs at some point, but this one definitely acted as the gateway drug to a pretty expensive movie addiction. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve probably watched this movie far more than any person should
Anyway, I digress… This movie also launched my first actor-centric brand-loyalty binge in Adam Sandler movies, which essentially boiled down to me buying any Adam Sandler movie i could find. At one point, I had every feature film to his credit on IMdB; thankfully i finally realized I had a problem after I purchased and watched “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”. These days I don’t necessarily avoid Sandler films, but I definitely need to see a bit of positive buzz on Rotten Tomatoes before I invest some time/money in the man.
Somehow, I’ve now digressed further. I haven’t seen this movie in probably 10+ years, definitely not since high school. Tonight I am going to subject myself to it again, and we will see how it ages and if it has any intrinsic value in 2020. Here is the trailer.
First thoughts, this movie is great example of where comedy films were in 2003, and I mean that in probably the best and worst possible ways. First off, it’s not GREAT… I wouldn’t say its horrible, either, but lets just say that you won’t see a lot of the actors in this film talking about this one these days. Watching the movie in 2020, a lot of the jokes are not in line with what is “acceptable”. You see Woody Harrelson playing a cross-dresser, Adam Sandler making jokes about mental disabilities, characters describing cutesy cat outfits as “Eskimo” style. It even features Rudy Giuliani in a “not evil” role… All things not acceptable in in 2020.
I guess lets talk through the cast. First, we’ve got Adam Sandler playing a wimpy guy named “Dave”. His shyness generally allows everyone to walk over him, which impacts not only his life but that of his girlfriend. The girlfriend is played by 2003’s American sweetheart and 2020’s hot American aunt, Marisa Tomei. She is great, but in this movie she plays the replaceable Sandler love interest. She is grossly underutilized here. Finally, Jack Nicholson plays the anger management counselor Buddy Riddell. Honestly, Jack Nicholson is great in a lot of movies. He is a pretty enjoyable actor to watch, but in this one he is kinda annoying. I think that’s more on the script than anything else.
The general concept is that Adam Sandler gets into trouble with the law due to an overreaction of an air marshal. As a result, he gets sentenced to anger management therapy with Jack Nicholson. What ensues is a bunch of scenes of Jack Nicholson forcing Adam Sandler into uncomfortable situations to make him angry, and Adam Sandler getting angry and reacting accordingly. None of it is groundbreaking, but the Heather Graham bit is pretty good (if you are watching this as a middle schooler) and the bit with the Buddhist monk (played by John C. Reilly) is probably the best part of this movie (though it also isn’t great). And as a Hoosier, I’d be remiss if i didn’t highlight the fact that Bobby Knight makes a cameo in an early group anger management scene. A little Bobby Knight is never a bad thing, and remembering his famous temper issues were a big deal in the early 2000’s is a good nostalgic hit.
I’ve said it a few times already, but this is a pretty standard Adam Sandler flick. It’s sappy-sentimental, with about the subtlety of lime green Corvette. The logic is half-baked, the dialogue is pretty horrid, and the jokes were funny for someone who hadn’t gotten through high school (which explains why I haven’t seen it since). The early-2000’s Sandler crew is all here, but I don’t really know what that gets you beyond knowing the cast is having fun off-camera. Objectively, its sub-par, but I would recommend it to someone who either hasn’t finished high school or is currently drunk. Beyond that, just find something else to watch.
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