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Anger Management (2003)

tomatometer

43

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 189
Fresh: 82 | Rotten: 107

Thought not without its funny moments, Anger Management is ultmately stale and disappointingly one-note, especially considering its capable cast.

46

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 21

Thought not without its funny moments, Anger Management is ultmately stale and disappointingly one-note, especially considering its capable cast.

audience

66

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 679,149

My Rating

Movie Info

A man comes face to face with the rage he didn't know he had in this comedy. Dave Buznick (Adam Sandler) is an even-tempered businessman who, after a series of strange misunderstandings on an airline flight, finds himself accused of air rage. A judge sentences Dave to undergo anger management therapy, and he soon finds himself in the care of Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), a celebrated therapist. However, Dave's group therapy sessions with a handful of truly disturbed individuals -- among

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Comedy

David Dorfman

Sep 16, 2003

$133.8M

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Cast

All Critics (194) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (110) | DVD (30)

Unless you're 15 at heart, you may need anger management yourself after sitting through this aggressively crass comedy, which alternates between mean-spirited slapstick and arbitrary uplift.

November 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Newsweek | Comment
Newsweek
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Has hell frozen over? Not only is Jack Nicholson starring in a buddy movie alongside Adam Sandler, but of the two, Sandler's low-key approach is preferable.

May 2, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Strenuous, spottily amusing.

April 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Slate | Comment
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is the kind of coarse comedy where a fart serves as a punch line.

April 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comment
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Even a longtime Adamophobe has to admit that Sandler is an agreeable presence here, and that the film has some funny filigree work to offset the oppressive schematics.

April 16, 2003 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Embarrassed and clueless, Mr. Nicholson is clearly slumming. As a goopy, doofus pet-clothes designer whose only talent is nostril-wiggling, Mr. Sandler comes closer to playing his real self.

April 15, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comment
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Very raunchy, uneven comedy with great actors.

December 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Full-blown 'Jack'--his face a spectacular special effect of full-blown energy--remains an irresistible act. [Blu-Ray]

May 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

It's hard not to walk away from this film thinking it could--and should--have been better.

May 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Do we really need a fable about corporate guys getting in touch with their inner brats?

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

No, it doesn't make much sense, and yes, it's irredeemably phallocentric -- but that is, perhaps, its saving grace.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

The only thing you can't get angry at are the adorable animal actors.

January 17, 2005 Full Review Source: StaciWilson.com | Comment
StaciWilson.com

[It's] like going to the NBA All-Star Game and seeing a fantastic team take the floor, but when the game begins you realize they left their brains in the locker room.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Looking Closer | Comment
Looking Closer

Anger Management does not really deserve an actual review.

December 9, 2004 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | Comment
Bangitout.com

This film is delightful, funny nonsense that had me laughing out loud.

October 7, 2004 Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | Comment

Sometimes even an occasional laugh can be the best medicine.

August 13, 2004 Full Review Source: Oregon Herald | Comment

Anger Management inspires only limp accolades, but it's just amusing enough to earn a look on a chilly, rainy April day.

June 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | Comment

... the first half of the movie was a guys’ flick that was so frustrating and stupid, it make me want to kill somebody.

February 13, 2004 Full Review | Comments (2)

Nicholson wears his devilish grin from his first scene to last, and one has to assume that's his reaction to the enormous size of his paycheck and not the material.

January 18, 2004 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comment
TheMovieReport.com

[Sandler and Nicholson] aren't doing anything we haven't seen from them before, but it's an undeniably fun movie.

January 5, 2004 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | Comment
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

This is a hackneyed, sprawling mess of a comedy, rarely funny and never interesting.

December 1, 2003 Comment
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Anger Management

There's no doubt about it that Nicholson and Sandler have great chemistry and they are probably the best actors for a movie bearing this title. But there's a feeling that they were both put on a leash by the studio writers and restrained from doing so much more that could have bettered the movie. It's also very

December 30, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

Anger Management had the potential of being a great comedy. Instead, the film fails and is virtually laugh free and really is more boring than entertaining. Adam Sandler is definitely not funny here, and he uses the one trick he's got up his sleeve, which is getting tiresome. His use of comedy is strained, and Sandler

December 10, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

    1. Arnie Shankman: Oh, what did you say about Buddha?
    2. Dr. Buddy Rydell: Dave said, 'How does a guy who weighs over 600 pounds have the balls to teach people about self-discipline.'
    – Submitted by Andrew A (40 days ago)
    1. Dr. Buddy Rydell: Might I have your first name, Mr. Head, and tell me it isn't Dick.
    – Submitted by Dan P (3 months ago)

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