Anger Management – Movie Review

by Izzy Kalman (August 2003)

I missed this movie, starring Adam Sandler and the incomparable Jack Nicholson, when it was playing in theaters. Though it won’t be available on video/dvd for another month, I got to see it recently not once, but twice, within the same week. My family watched it on Movie on Demand in a hotel while we were on my recent seminar tour. On our flight back home, the scheduled movie was cancelled, and what was shown in it’s place? Yes, Anger Management. Though the critics did not care for the movie (it certainly can’t be considered great), anyone in the mental health fields would probably enjoy it. The plot is outrageous, and Dr. Rydell’s (played by Nicholson) anger management technique is entirely unrealistic, but there are many truly funny moments. John Turturro is brilliant as Chuck, a rage-filled psychopath, and demonstrates one of my claims – that many angry people, like the kids who have shot up their schools, have a defective sense of humor: they are not able to take a joke about themselves. And there is a wonderfully hilarious episode with the sexy and talented Heather Graham who becomes enraged because she can’t handle anything she perceives as criticism about her body. Not a great movie, but see it anyway. It will make you laugh, and laughter is good medicine.

#NotagreatmoviebutseeitanywayItwillmakeyoulaughandlaughterisgoodmedicine