Rating- * (1/5)
Just when I thought he was out…they pulled him back in! Pardon the Godfather quote but I felt it all too perfect for describing Adam Sandler’s latest crime against the cinema, Anger Management. Before I use this lackluster piece of garbage as an example in one of my tirades about a larger problem in American film, let me simply refer you to my review of Sandler’s last film, the equally unfunny Mr. Deeds, where I believe I have already adequately described my feelings on the continuing film misadventures of Adam Sandler. This film falls right into the same category as Mr. Deeds for the simple fact that it is not really different in any way from Mr. Deeds or any other of Adam Sandler’s career of original comedies. It uses all the same jokes and comedic devices and never strives to accomplish anything more than to point at us and wait for laughter. This movie does accomplish one new thing in that it brings an incredibly accomplished star, Jack Nicholson, to a new low in his career. Nicholson, just like every other actor in the film, seems to be on autopilot for his entire performance. He never even attempts to be believable in his character and the whole ordeal seems more like a guest appearance on a sketch comedy show than an actual film performance. The story, if it matters, goes like this: Sandler plays a quiet, likable guy who through a series of accidents on board an airline flight is forced to go through anger management therapy. His doctor, played by Nicholson, is the eccentric and kooky Dr. Buddy Rydell who decides to move in with Sandler so as to better observe his life. The story, as with all Adam Sandler movies, is basically just there as a delivery device for Sandler’s “crazy” antics which range from screaming to punching people and of course there’s the old Sandler movie must-have, the obligatory joke involving a fat person going to the bathroom. It’s all brilliant comedy, really…if you’re a five year old. There are too many things wrong with this movie to list all of them, namely that it’s a comedy that’s not funny at all, but I will bring up a couple of the more interesting problems. First, there’s the issue of cameos. Littering a movie with celebrity cameos is usually something done by a producer to spice up a movie that may not work on its own. If that’s the case here then the producers must have been really worried about this one because there are more celebrities in this movie than you can shake a stick at. The most despicable by far is Mayor Rudy Giuliani yelling “you can doo eet!” during the dramatic climax of the movie. Needless to say my head was in my hands shaking in disgust. The other problem is the dramatic ending which is so completely absurd and ridiculous that there’s no way anyone can still be invested in the movie by the time they realize what’s going on. I feel obligated not to tell you the ending but let it suffice to say that it is one of the most superbly idiotic ideas for an ending that could ever be conceived. I’ve said before that Sandler’s new movies aren’t funny because they reuse jokes from his old movies but I realize that that can’t be true since his older movies (Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison) actually still make me laugh while I made it all the way through Mr. Deeds and Anger Management without so much as a chuckle. The reality of the situation is this: the jokes aren’t getting old, Sandler is just getting worse at telling them. With each passing movie, Sandler has seemed less and less enthusiastic in his performances. He has less energy and seems to be putting way to much trust in the material being inherently funny, which it is not. Unfortunately, these brainless movies keep making more and more money each time so don’t expect the Sandler machine to shut down anytime soon. Still, I can’t help but be disappointed after seeing such a moving performance by Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love. After that I thought, “Surely, he’s out of the dumb comedy business.” But I imagine a $20 million paycheck is pretty hard to turn down and Sandler doesn’t show any signs of changing his ways. Thanks, America, for making Anger Management the #1 movie at the box-office for two weeks and insuring us yet another stupid, stupid, stupid Adam Sandler comedy. If you thought Mr. Deeds was great and hilarious then go see Anger Management and never visit my site again. If, however, you have a shred of intelligence in your head then don’t go see this movie. The only thing you’ll laugh at is the absurdity of the fact that this movie even exists.