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ANGER MANAGEMENT By Rachel Deahl Review Film Critic Click for the Official Site Coming off of roles in which they both brilliantly played against type, Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler are back to their old tricks and cinematic selves in "Anger Management." After Nicholson was passed over by Oscar for his stellar and understated performance as the humble mid-westerner Warren Schmidt in "About Schmidt" and Sandler shocked fans with his turn as the unbalanced Barry Egan in the bizarre "Punch Drunk Love," the two stars return to form with this standard comedy. Delivering that familiar dose of cheery insanity, which is suggested in each toothy smile he flashes, Nicholson stars here as the unorthodox anger management guru, Dr. Buddy Rydell. When Sandler's insecure and mousy executive secretary, Dave Buznik, is thrown into Rydell's self-help group after politely wrangling with a flight attendant, the unknowing Manhattanite becomes the subject of a nightmare recovery. Given the option to complete the crazy doc's program or go to jail for a year, Buznick unwillingly plays host and best friend to the quack. Dubbed an "implosive" personality by the doctor, i.e. someone who is more likely to go postal than get into a bar fight (which, incidentally, he does), Buddy starts Dave on a program that seems designed to drive him insane and make him mad as hell.
As part of the "treatment," Buznick endures a host of humiliations at his doctor's hand. Coming on strong as a rude houseguest - Buddy sleeps in the nude and demands a homemade breakfast - the doctor evolves into a flat-out unbearable companion. While Buznick acquiesces to the demand for an impromptu rendition of "I'm so Pretty" (recalling Robert DeNiro's musical act in "Analyze That" - what is it with "West Side Story" and the insane?) on the car trip to work, he draws the line when Buddy begins to move in on his girlfriend (Marisa Tomei). Filled with less of the infantile humor that can be found in most of Sandler's films, "Anger Management" is surprisingly stale. Nicholson is endlessly enjoyable as the irascible doctor, but Sandler's mumbling idiot-routine becomes old, quickly. And while some wonderful character actors are brought in to provide comic flair - both John Turturro and Luis Guzman (who's been memorable in films like "Out of Sight" and "Boogie Nights") are members of Buddy's group - their scripted material often falls flat. Surprisingly, Heather Graham and John C. Reilly draw more laughs as an insecure actress and angry monk, respectively. High on the cameo front as well (look out for Rudy Giuliani, John McEnroe and Bobby Knight), "Anger Management" offers a bunch of scenarios that are almost hilarious. Not without memorable bits, "Anger Management" should have been funnier than it is. Ironically enough, more of the potty humor Sandler built his career on could have made this therapy session more enjoyable. Grade: B- Malibu's Most Wanted Click for the Official Site If there's one thing I'm ashamed to admit I enjoy watching on TV, aside from "Married By America," it's the WB's stupid hidden camera show, "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment." Helmed by Kennedy, that slightly annoying kid from "Scream" who delivered "the rules of scary movies" to his ill-fated co-stars and the audience, the show revolves around its headliner dressing up in funny costumes and donning silly accents to play pranks on unwitting strangers. And, while the basic premise of the show is tired and dumb, Kennedy occasionally shows real comic flair as he develops different characters for each skit, some memorable enough to become reoccurring fixtures on the show; it's a process not unlike the one comedians on "Saturday Night Live" endure. Now, in "Malibu's Most Wanted," the young comedian continues his unlikely winning streak with an equally ridiculous, but irresistible, racial farce. As the star and chief writer of "Malibu's Most Wanted" Kennedy is writ large here, delivering the same hit-and-miss antics that regularly crop on his TV show.
Playing the affluent son of a California senator who dreams of being a rapper, the running joke here is Kennedy himself - a white kid who "acts Black." The idiot version of Eminem, sans the street cred and rapping skills, Brad Gluckman (or B-rad as he demands to be called) is a gem of a character. Hopelessly naive and well-intentioned, he wanders around Malibu dishing out horrible rhymes and uttering words like "shiznit." Equally out of place on the home front as he is in the local 'hood, Brad is immediately a media concern for the team heading up his dad's campaign. When the not-so-prodigal son attempts to help on the campaign trail (he addresses a sign appearing before a California women's group to the "bitches and hoes"), the staffers agree he's got to go. So, in an attempt to "scare the Black out of him," the scheming young Republicans (headed up by Blair Underwood) hire two actors to carjack Brad and take him on a tour of the real ghetto. As the two uptight thespians called in for the job, Anthony Anderson and Taye Diggs are forced to pull off the hardest acting job of their life: to "act black." With its constant play on racial stereotypes, "Malibu's Most Wanted" is full of characters who are supposedly too white, or Black, for their own good. But, unlike the recent "Bringing Down the House" which played the race card in an offensive and unamusing manner, Kennedy's film is consistently enjoyable and, more importantly, well-intentioned. While Kennedy himself can be a bit irksome with his high-pitched ghetto speak, the invention of Brad Gluckman is repeatedly amusing. From the flashback to his hip-hop Bar Mitzvah (complete with attendees donning Flavor Flav-inspired clocks around their necks) to his embarrassing appearance at an open mic hip-hop showdown, B-rad draws almost as many chuckles as Eminem's Bunny Rabbit drew dramatic winces. And, with a strong cast that also features appearances from Bo Derek and Snoop Doggy Dogg (as a talking rat), the ensemble here is strong. With the dearth of funny movies playing at theaters right now, "Malibu's Most Wanted" is your best bet to draw some laughs, shocking as that may sound. Grade: B+
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