Anger Management is a 2003 American buddycomedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by David S. Dorfman. Starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson with Marisa Tomei, Luis Guzmán, Woody Harrelson and John Turturro in supporting roles, the film tells the story of a businessman who is sentenced to an anger management program under a renowned therapist with unconventional methods. Anger Management marked the final film for Lynne Thigpen who died weeks before the release and it is also dedicated in her memory. Released in theaters in the United States on April 11, 2003 by Columbia Pictures, the film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $195 million against a $75 million budget.
Plot
In 1978 Brooklyn, as a young boy, Dave Buznik is about to experience his first kiss, he is humiliated by local bully Arnie Shankman who suddenly pulls down his pants and underwear.
Twenty-five years later, Dave works as a secretary for a disrespectful boss named Frank. Dave's bullying trauma causes him to avoid displaying affection such as kissing his girlfriend Linda in public. His problems are exacerbated by his narcissistic co-worker, Andrew, who is close friends with Linda and desires to rekindle their romantic relationship.
During a flight, Dave loses his temper, albeit mildly, after being treated disrespectfully by a flight attendant, prompting the sky marshal to taser him. He is arrested for "assaulting" the aforementioned flight attendant and is sentenced to anger management under Dr. Buddy Rydell, a renowned therapist who sat next to him on the plane. However, during a group therapy session, Dave slightly snaps after being unable to understand one of Buddy's questions and has to interact with other clients who are far more aggressive with their anger than Dave. Dave's sentence is extended to 30 days after he accidentally breaks a waitress's nose while defending himself from a blind man's cane during a bar fight with his "anger buddy", Chuck.
Back in court, he is on the verge of being sent to prison, before Buddy steps in and has a word with the judge. The court imposes "radical round-the-clock therapy", living with Dave and accompanying him at work. This entails unorthodox techniques which cause him to be passive aggressive. At work Buddy is shocked to learn of the well-endowed Andrew's friendship with Linda. However, seeing a photo of Linda, Buddy becomes instantly smitten with her, annoying Dave. Dave, meanwhile, talks to his attorney to try to get his sentence overturned, and learns from him that Buddy has a series of lawsuits pending. However, Dave's attempts at building up evidence against him, gets repeatedly foiled by Buddy.
While on the way to work with Buddy, Dave is ordered to park his car on a bridge and sing a parody of "I Feel Pretty", with Buddy, to calm his attitude. Dave is then forced to interact with a cross-dressing prostitute who goes by the name Galaxia. When he refuses to have sex with Galaxia, Buddy informs Dave that he has learned what righteous anger is.
Dave receives a phone call that Buddy's mother is having surgery, so they drive up to Boston, only for it to be extremely minor, as Dave had exaggerated it. At a bar, Buddy tries to get Dave to be more confident by using an obnoxious pick up line on a woman named Kendra. When it works, Buddy leaves. Dave goes back to Kendra’s house so he can use the phone to get in touch with Buddy. Kendra attempts to seduce Dave, who declines because of Linda and is thrown out. Buddy says that Kendra is an actress and that it was all a prank, but he did tell Linda that Dave was with another woman.
To enhance Dave's assertiveness, Buddy arranges for him to get revenge on Arnie Shankman, who has become a Buddhist monk, under the alias name, "Pana Kamanana". Arnie apologizes, but then laughs when reminded of the kiss incident. Buddy and an initially hesitant Dave provoke Arnie by lying about Dave molesting Arnie's mentally ill sister. A fight ensues, and after defeating Arnie the duo flee and Dave is delighted to have had his revenge.
Linda tells Dave she has agreed to follow Buddy's advice that they have a trial separation; Buddy explains to Dave that this is to give him time to improve his behavior. Dave attacks him when he learns he is dating Linda. Dave returns to court where Buddy issues a restraining order against him for attempting to choke him while wearing a neck brace (which later turned out to be fake). Dave snaps at work when he learns Frank promoted Andrew to the position he had expected. He punches Andrew in the face and wrecks Frank's office with a golf club.
Learning from Andrew that Buddy has taken Linda to a New York Yankees game, Dave assumes Buddy intends to steal his marriage proposal idea and races to the stadium. A security agent named Gary is revealed to be Galaxia, who lets Dave onto the field. Security ends up capturing him, but New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani orders them to allow Dave to speak. Linda is moved when Dave announces publicly that he is willing to change. At her request, he kisses her in front of the crowd and she accepts his proposal. Linda then reveals that the game was the final phase of his therapy and explains that the aggravation he endured was all part of a setup planned by herself and Buddy after she read his anger management book. She adds that most of the people involved were in on Buddy's plans to help Dave stand up for himself.
At a barbecue celebrating his graduation, Dave and his friends are confronted at gunpoint by a man whose car Buddy destroyed, only for it to be just a prank organized by Dave. As they all start singing "I Feel Pretty", the man is tackled by Chuck, who then joins the song.
Anger Management was number one at the box office on its opening weekend, April 11–13, 2003, earning $42.2 million. The film surpassed Big Daddy and Batman to have the highest opening weekend for both an Adam Sandler film and a Jack Nicholson film. It also had the highest April opening weekend, beating out The Scorpion King.[2] It earned a total of $135.6 million in the U.S. with a total worldwide box office of $195.7 million.[3]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, Anger Management has a 42% approval rating based on 192 reviews, with an average score of 5.1/10 and a consensus: "Though not without its funny moments, Anger Management is ultimately stale and disappointingly one-note, especially considering its capable cast."[4] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[6]
Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "The concept is inspired. The execution is lame. Anger Management, a film that might have been one of Adam Sandler's best, becomes one of Jack Nicholson's worst."[7] Caroline Westbrook for Empire magazine thought "A better script and more attention to other cast members would have helped but, as it stands, this is still the best Adam Sandler comedy since The Wedding Singer."[8] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the film a D, describing it as "a perfectly dreadful affair that makes no sense, has almost no good laughs and finally just sinks like a rock in a Beverly Hills swimming pool."[9]
A television series based loosely on the film premiered on June 28, 2012,[12] starring Charlie Sheen in the role originated by Jack Nicholson; though not sharing the same name, the series was Sheen's first acting role since his firing from the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men on March 7, 2011, after eight seasons.[13] The show was produced by the film's producer Joe Roth, and was broadcast on FX in the United States, CTV in Canada and on TBS in Latin America for two seasons, totalling 100 episodes before it was cancelled.[14]
