Intermission: 'Anger Management' draws comparison to 'Green Acres'

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Dave Buznik, the central character in "Anger Management," reminds me of Oliver Wendle Douglas from the 1960s sitcom "Green Acres." |ret||ret||tab|

For those in the audience, Douglas appeared to be the only sane person around. Trouble was, all of the other characters seemed to be working in concert against him, and to them Douglas was the crazy one. |ret||ret||tab|

Such is the fate of Dave Buznik, played by Adam Sandler. Sandler, after last year's brilliant performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch Drunk Love," has graduated from his low-brow slapstick beginnings, and the fact he can co-star successfully with the likes of Jack Nicholson is a sign he's becoming a serious (if still comedic) actor. |ret||ret||tab|

Dave Buznik is a pretty unassuming guy. He doesn't make waves, and due to a childhood trauma, he is too shy to even kiss his girl, Linda (Marisa Tomei), in public. |ret||ret||tab|

Dave's the executive assistant to an overbearing management type at a pet products company. He actually does most of the boss's work but gets none of the credit. He's on his way to a meeting in St. Louis and, after backing down to another passenger who has taken his seat on the plane, his troubles begin.|ret||ret||tab|

He finds himself sitting next to a rather boorish man who is loud, says inappropriate things and attracts a lot of attention, much to Dave's dismay. The loudmouth insists that Dave get a headset so they can watch the movie together. After asking the flight attendant several times with no results, he taps her on the arm as she walks by. She tells Dave, who has been his usual, timid self, to please calm down. Explaining that he is calm only makes matters worse. He soon finds himself tazered, back at the airport and under arrest.|ret||ret||tab|

At his trial the judge orders Dave to undergo anger management therapy, a sentence he just can't believe. But, like a person on a mental ward insisting he isn't crazy, the more Dave tries to explain he's not angry, the more the powers that be believe he is. Remember the old George Gobel line, "Did you ever get the feeling the world was a tuxedo ... and you were a brown pair of shoes?" That's the way Dave is feeling.|ret||ret||tab|

Dave's anger therapist turns out to be the renowned Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), and oddly enough he's the same guy Dave was sitting next to on the plane. The initial group therapy session is a hoot, and the impressive cast of characters (this film could have been called "Cameo Appearance Management") begins to widen. |ret||ret||tab|

Despite Dave's protests, Rydell thinks he really is angry. After another hapless incident and court appearance, Buddy becomes Dave's 24/7 live-in anger management therapist. |ret||ret||tab|

Nicholson, fresh off his rather subdued (but great) performance in "About Schmidt," is back to the wild side here. He adopts mannerisms that seem to be a cross between his character, Jack Torrence, in "The Shining," and the Devil, whom he played in "The Witches of Eastwick." From the viewer's perspective, Buddy Rydell is the one who should be in therapy.|ret||ret||tab|

At every turn, Rydell is setting Dave up with some new, bizarre angle of his treatment. He accompanies Dave to work and insults his boss. He makes Dave pick up a girl in a bar and promptly calls Linda, to tell her of his unfaithfulness. Eventually, the good doctor starts hitting on Linda and before you know it, they are an item. Now, Dave is starting to get angry. Too bad he's still under court orders. |ret||ret||tab|

The downward spiral continues and Dave finds himself being, as the clich says, "Trapped in a world he never made."|ret||ret||tab|

The cameos continue to spiral as well. Consider this: Robert Merrill, Heather Graham, John McEnroe, Bobby Knight, Woody Harrelson, Harry Dean Stanton, Luis Guzman, John Turturro, members of the New York Yankees, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani all make appearances here. |ret||ret||tab|

While these walk-on bit parts in films can be fun, they sometimes seem to be trying to take our focus away from the plot, which may not be as strong as it could be. |ret||ret||tab|

In this case, the last act of the film is the weakest link, and Giuliani's "acting" doesn't help at all. The twist at the end may be seen by some to be a cop out, and I won't totally disagree.|ret||ret||tab|

The premise of "Anger Management" is a great one (I was a huge "Green Acres" fan), and Nicholson and Sandler seem to be having a great time together. The cat clothes (you'll see) are a hoot as well. |ret||ret||tab|

After the finale, though, I just kept thinking maybe the film could have been a whole lot better. A more skilled director Segal gave us "The Nutty Professor II" may have helped. Listen, I'm not angry about it or anything. It's just a movie after all ... no need to have me evaluated ... I'm not mad ... really. All in all I liked it, OK?|ret||ret||tab|

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