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.
Anger Management (2003)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:18
Rotten:20
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: There are funny moments in this one-joke movie. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] on appeal for crude sexual content and language
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Apr 11, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $133,756,285
Synopsis: In Revolution Studios’ riotous new comedy Anger Management, Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson star as patient and therapist, though at times it’s hard to tell which one is which. After a... In Revolution Studios’ riotous new comedy Anger Management, Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson star as patient and therapist, though at times it’s hard to tell which one is which. After a misunderstanding aboard an airplane that escalates out of control, the mild-mannered Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is ordered by Judge Daniels (Lynne Thigpen) to attend anger management sessions run by Doctor Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), which are filled with highly eccentric and volatile men and women. Buddy’s unorthodox approach to therapy is confrontational and abrasive and Dave is bewildered by it. Then, after yet another mishap, Judge Daniels orders Dave to step up his therapy or wind up in jail. So, Buddy moves in with Dave to help him battle his inner demons. Buddy himself has no inner demons since he acts out at every opportunity and that includes making lewd comments about Dave’s girlfriend Linda (Marisa Tomei) and goading Dave into confronting every slight, past or present, head-on. But Buddy finally goes too far and Dave must decide whether to crawl back into his shell or stand up for himself. Could it be that Buddy’s confounding and contradictory treatment is just what the doctor ordered? Anger Management is scheduled for release nationwide April 11, 2003. Revolution Studios Presents A Happy Madison Production Anger Management, a Columbia Pictures release starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. The co-stars are Marisa Tomei, Luis Guzman and Lynne Thigpen, with Woody Harrelson and John Turturro. The director is Peter Segal. The film is written by David Dorfman. The producers are Jack Giarraputo and Barry Bernardi. The executive producers are Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Tim Herlihy, Todd Garner and John Jacobs. The director of photography is Donald M. McAlpine, ACS, ASC. The editor is Jeff Gourson. The production designer is Alan Au. The music supervision is by Michael Dilbeck. The music is by Teddy Castellucci. The costumes are by Ellen Lutter. Anger Management is rated PG-13 for crude sexual content and language. [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Allen Covert, Kevin Nealon, Lynne Thigpen, Krista Allen, January Jones, Jonathan Loughran, Kurt Fuller, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson, Harry Dean Stanton
Director: Peter Segal
Director: Peter Segal
Screenwriter: David Dorfman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Get This Movie
Reviews for Anger Management
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.
This is the kind of coarse comedy where a fart serves as a punch line.
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.
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.
The free-associational lurch of the enigmatic Nicholson 12-step program is set to a familiar backbeat of juvenile gross-out and homosexual panic; what's truly illogical is the blithe conflation of anger management and assertiveness training.
A couple of brakes-off set pieces to the side, the antics here are strained, graceless and tiresomely crude, the sorts of things audiences feel they're supposed to laugh at rather than well-developed situations that generate genuine amusement.
Flimsy follow-through or not, the teaming still works, and so, at times, does the premise.
A one-joke movie that milks its central conceit long after there's nothing left.
Folks who loved Punch-Drunk Love won't care much for Anger Management, but cameo appearances by a host of famous names occur frequently enough that we're forced to stay alert, if only to catch them.
Anger Management plays the same tune too much of the time to live up to its potential. Still, it's good for a giggle.
Anger Management is not going to go down in history as a comedy classic, but it should generate great box office numbers and its broad approach will appeal to Sandler's loyal fan base.
While it includes some funny scenes, one senses that the Nicholson-Sandler pairing could have achieved much more.
Latest News for Anger Management
January 10, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Captain Jack and Captain Morgan Set Sail
For the first time in three weeks, studios will pack a Friday with plenty of new releases as four films open or expand nationwide giving the box office chart a major shakeup.... More...
December 04, 2006:
Movie Pirate Gets Seven Years in Jail
Think it sounds like a good idea to head into your local multiplex and videotape the biggest movies so you can upload them onto the internet and give a bunch of strangers free... More...
July 17, 2006:
Box Office Wrapup: Audiences Still Love Their Pirates
The Johnny Depp juggernaut Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest remained the most popular film in North America for a second weekend easily defending its box office crown... More...
June 22, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Click" Doesn't, Ahem, Click; "Waist" Isn't Deep Enough
This week at the movies, we've got a magical remote control ("Click") and a father who's trying to rescue his son ("Waist Deep"). Will the critics dig... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Anger Management at Rotten Tomatoes
- Anger Management at IGN
- Anger Management at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



