Anger Management
Studio: Sony/Columbia Year: 2003 Rated: PG-13 Program Length: 106 minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 codec Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Subtitles: English, English SDH, French |
The Program
The pairing of Adam Sandler with Jack Nicholson must have seemed like a masterstroke of casting, but Anger Management is a mixed bag and ultimately a disappointment. However, I suspect that there are enough amusing scenes to keep Sandler fans happy, and Nicholson is always interesting to watch.
Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a meek and unassertive “administrative assistant” whose spends his hours at work designing sweaters for overweight cats. His career is going nowhere and, thanks to a humiliating incident when he was in the fifth grade, he is unable to show his girlfriend, Linda (Marisa Tomei), affection in public. Dave boards an airplane in New York to go on a business trip and finds himself seated next to Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), a psychologist. When Dave asks for a headset so he can listen to the in-flight movie, his flight attendant ignores him and a mild confrontation ensues. An Air Marshal intervenes and soon Dave finds himself in court, charged with assaulting the flight attendant. The judge sentences Dave to attend Buddy’s anger management class.
Dave expects to get in and out of the class in no time, but after geting caught up in the middle of a fight which breaks out in a bar he ends up in court again. This time Dave has to accept more drastic measures, and Buddy decides to move in with him and essentially immerse Dave in anger management.
Along the way there are some funny scenes involving Chuck (John Turturro), who is also attending Buddy’s therapy sessions, and two bisexual porn actresses, Stacy (Krista Allen) and Gina (January Jones). The film includes cameo appearances by Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, Kevin Nealon, Woody Harrelson, Harry Dean Stanton, college basketball coach Bob Knight, and former tennis star John McEnroe. Some of the cameos are funny, but the one involving Knight is forced and you might miss McEnroe altogether if you blink at the wrong moment.
Someone planning to see Anger Management might wonder if this is a Jack Nicholson movie with Adam Sandler, or an Adam Sandler movie with Jack Nicholson. The answer is that it is an Adam Sandler movie with Jack Nicholson, so your appreciation of it may depend upon how much you enjoy Sandler’s work. To give you an idea of what to expect, in one scene Dave gives a wedgie to a Buddhist monk. The film is marred by a totally hokey climactic scene which takes place in Yankee Stadium. If any part of the finale surprises you, it just means that you need to get out more. The finale also is marred by an annoying and unfunny cameo by former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, playing himself.
There are also some plot contrivances which bothered me, but which others might not even notice. Interfering with a flight attendant is a Federal crime, but Dave’s case somehow ends up before a New York judge who threatens to send him to Rikers Island. And after the bar fight has him appearing before the same judge, wouldn’t he want to insist on having his case tried before a jury? But perhaps I am being overly picky.
The Video
The 1080p Blu-ray widescreen transfer is excellent. I did not have the standard DVD available for comparison, but the picture on this disc is outstanding. The picture is sharp and crystal-clear and the colors are solid throughout. There is virtually no grain and overall effect is very pleasing.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 audio is unexceptional but satisfying. There is not a great deal in the way of surround effects, but the dialogue is clear and understandable. There are many recognizable tunes on the soundtrack and they sounded fine to my ears.
The Supplements
This Blu-ray release of Anger Management includes a number of extras, which appear to be identical to those found on the standard DVD.
The extras include a commentary with Adam Sandler and director Peter Segal. There is an 18-minute “making of” featurette called “Skull Session” and a brief 4-minute tribute to Jack Nicholson entitled “My Buddy Jack.”
There are also several deleted scenes (including a full scene with John McEnroe) and a blooper reel.
The extras are in standard definition and are not enhanced for widescreen televisions.
Other Features
I found that I could not immediately access the menu while watching the featurettes. To get to the menu I had to fast-forward to the end of the featurette I was watching before I could get back to the main menu.
The Packaging
The single disc comes in a standard Blu-ray keepcase.
The Final Analysis
Fans of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson will probably want to see this, but unfortunately the script is not up to their talents. However, every time I felt myself losing interest another funny bit would appear, so in spite of my overall disappointment I found that the film has enough laughs to keep me in it to the end.
Equipment used for this review:
Panasonic DMP-BD10A DVD Player
Sharp LC-42D62U LCD display
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: May 20, 2008
