Anger Management

3 Stars

Rating

PG-13

Crude sexual content and language

Director

Peter Segal

A mental health crisis

Starring

There was hope here, for a funny, quirky and interesting picture. It got muddled about a half-hour in, however. Ten-year-old Dave Buznik is humiliated, as he is about to get his first kiss and the local bully pulls his pants down around his ankles, leaving Dave bare bottomed.

Twenty-five years later Dave, now played by Adam Sandler, is still uncomfortable with public affection. He allows his boss to take credit for his ideas. His girlfriend of two years, Linda (Marisa Tomei), constantly encourages him to be more aggressive. She truly believes in Dave but can hardly coax a good-bye kiss from him at the airport, a very public place, as he leaves on a business trip.

On board the plane, Dave sits next to Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), a self-help guru in anger management. What takes place is a very funny exchange with a flight attendant and an air marshal that leads to Buddy being charged with assault. The court proceedings are fun, with the late Lynne Thigpen presiding as the judge, who is a former patient of Buddy's. She sentences Dave to attend sessions with Dr. Rydell, to learn to control his angry impulses.

There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but then there's Nicholson's hairy arm wrapped around a wary Adam Sandler, as they share a bed, and a wacky Woody Harrelson in drag. In fact, Freud would have a field day interpreting this script. There's a sexual undercurrent to nearly everything that occurs, often homosexual. In an effort to present an "oh, so modern" comedy, with a sophisticated outlook, at times "Anger Management" appears self-conscious and even stereotypic. As with Dave, there may be an untapped well of anger just below the surface.

The four popcorn box rating is for this all-star cast performance; there are many recognizable faces in small roles. And there's some funny stuff here. But a little more time on the couch with the script doctor was in order.