Jack Nicholson plays Jack Nicholson on speed, and he's bent on cracking Adam Sandler's nut in this sparklingly comic take on America's obsession with pop psychology.
On the surface, Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is saintly placid, but deep down he's haunted by the memory of a childhood wedgie. It's this trauma which threatens his relationship with girlfriend Linda (Marisa Tomei).
Dr Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) is assigned to purge Buznik of his inner underwear demons when the latter is mistakenly arrested for a fit of air rage (blame it on 9/11), and sentenced to 20 hours of anger management therapy.
But Rydell's methods are counterproductive.
First he teams Buznik with a psychotic 'anger ally' in the shape of John Turturro as the hilariously feverish Chuck - the victim of anti-Semitism despite being "half Irish, half Italian, half Mexican".
And it gets worse: step three involves pummelling the living Zen out of a Buddhist monk (John C Reilly). Now, you know that's funny.
For the most part, Adam Sandler plays the straight man to Nicholson's hyperactive wacko, and while it's a guilty pleasure to see Nicholson off the leash, Sandler's soft-centred charm is the key in bringing warmth to this otherwise wicked comedy.
The core problem with the story is that it depends on weak contrivance. A forgivable flaw, but it's a pity writer David Dorfman attempts to justify this in the finale - as it stands, he only draws attention to the cracks.
Nonetheless, "Anger Management" achieves what it sets out to do. The pairing of Nicholson and Sandler is golden. The gags are sometimes slapstick but more often found between the lines; in sly characterisation, and an all-pervasive sense of irony.
In the end, this movie proves that laughter really is the best medicine. So if you're feeling stressed out, prescribe yourself two hours of "Anger Management". Buddhists everywhere will thank you for it.
Anger Management (2003)
