The movie-going public has high expectations for Anger Management; and for good reasons. The movie boasts two Academy Award winners (Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei), one Academy nominee (John C. Reilly), and one of Saturday Night Live’s most successful comedians on the big screen, Adam Sandler.

So what went wrong? It’s a combination of factors, really. Could be the embarrassing Buddhist Monk fight sequence in which John C. Reilly gets a bunch of wedgies from Sandler. Could be the use of the West Side Story song "I Feel Pretty" as the theme. Maybe it was the inclusion of two vapid porn star characters to “spice” up the film. The movie’s unforgivably, stupendously bad ending is also a likely culprit.

My personal theory is that it’s lackluster screenplay by David Dorfman relied way too heavily on the talents and star power of Sandler and Nicholson, and that director Peter Segal relied way too heavily on the script that relied on Sandler and Nicholson.

It’s a vicious circle, and one that ultimately makes Anger Management a disappointment. Not a crashing disappointment; but Anger Management is mildly funny, where I expected a rollicking, side-aching comic romp.

Dave Buznik (Sandler) tries to get ahead in life by always being nice. But instead, he’s continually “stepped on,” and heavily under-appreciated. Dave is truly the definition of “laid back.” But a massive misunderstanding involving an airline attendant lands Dave in court, where Judge Daniels (Lynne Thigpen) orders him to attend anger management therapy.

Dave runs into a familiar face at anger management—that of Dr. Buddy Rydell, who had been on the airplane the same day Dave had his unfortunate “incident.” But Dave soon finds that Dr. Rydell isn’t sympathetic to his plight. Dave winds up being forced to attend sessions with bizarre, angry peers.

Before long, Dave finds himself in another uncharacteristically violent situation, and he’s completely befuddled to find himself back in front of Judge Daniels again. Judge Daniels sentences him to intensive anger management therapy, under the threat of a year in prison.

Dr. Rydell, whose grating and pushy therapy style is driving Dave over the edge, decides he must move in with Dave in order to give him the best care possible. At this stage, Dave learns how twisted Dr. Rydell really is. He throws plates at the wall, goads Dave into harassing a monk, forces him to make small talk with a transvestite prostitute, and tries to steal Dave’s girlfriend Linda (Tomei).

It would appear that Dr. Buddy Rydell is an unconventional, abusive, psychotic therapist who ought to be reported to the authorities. But there’s an explanation for his insulting behavior toward Dave, and trust me—it won’t make you feel any better about things when you find out what’s really going on. This particular explanation involves copious amounts of deception and hypocrisy, all from the people who ought to have loved and supported Dave the most. It doesn’t make them sympathetic characters, and consequently it’s difficult to care what happens to any of them in the end.

Predictably, Anger Management benefits from the enormous comic capabilities of it’s two stars. Adam Sandler, whose bewildered reactions to Rydell’s behavior are nothing short of priceless. Nicholson, as usually, oozes star power and charisma, and even pulls something almost likable out of his despicable character. The rest of the cast, including several cameos, do the best they can with the material they’re given. They did stretch out each scene to the comic maximum they were able to achieve.

But something about Anger Management seems seriously underdeveloped, especially given the potential for hilarity a storyline of this kind offers. On the surface, the movie has all the smart, glossy pizzazz of a great comedy. But it’s reasoning is haywire, character development shallow, and the storyline seems to go nowhere fast.

Bottom Line: What can you say about a movie that did fine, but it’s obvious it could have been so much better? You’ll laugh, but not nearly as often nor as heartily as you want to. B-