Anger Management (Widescreen Edition)

AFTER A MISUNDERSTANDING ABOARD AN AIRPLANE THAT ESCALATES OUTOF CONTROL, THE MILD-MANNERED DAVE BUZNIK IS ORDERED BY JUDGE DANIELS TO ATTEND ANGER MANAGEMENT SESSIONS RUN BY DOCTOR BUDDY RYDELL, WHICH ARE FILLED WITH HIGHLY ECCENTRIC AND VOLATILE MEN AND WOMEN.

The irresistible pairing of Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler is the best reason to see Anger Management, a comedy that might loosely be called The Funny and the Furious. Nicholson and especially Sandler have screen personas that partially rely on pent-up anxieties, so there's definite potential in teaming them as a mild-mannered designer of pet clothing for chubby cats (Sandler) who's been ordered to undergo anger-management therapy with a zany counselor (Nicholson) prone to occasional tantrums and devious manipulation. Surely this meandering comedy looked better on the page; director Peter Segal scores a few lucky scenes (particularly Sandler's encounter with a Buddhist monk, played by John C. Reilly), but a flood of cameos (Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson, Rudolph Giuliani, and others) can't match the number of laughs that fall flat. As Sandler's understanding girlfriend, Marisa Tomei plays a pivotal role in a happy ending that leaves everyone smiling, with the possible exception of the audience. --Jeff Shannon