Anger Management [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

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 them jumpy ex-con Chuck (John Turturro), obsessive sports fan Nate (Jonathan Loughran), slow-burning Lou (Luis Guzman), egocentric Andrew (Allen Covert), and bisexual porn stars Gina and Stacy (Krista Allen and January Jones) -- leave him far more unsettled than when he arrived. Later, when Buddy decides to move into Dave's home for intensive therapy, he soon discovers Buddy has more than a bit of his own anger to resolve, and that no one brings out Dave's deeply buried inner rage quite like Buddy. Anger Management also stars Marisa Tomei as Dave's girlfriend, Linda; in addition, the film features a number of notable actors in cameos, including Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Ray Liotta, Heather Graham, and Harry Dean Stanton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Screen: Color
• Features:
  • Standard definition
  • English (Stereo)
  • Feature-length commentary by Adam Sandler & Director Peter Segal
  • "Skull Session" Behind-the-scenes featurette
  • "My Buddy, Jack" featurette
  • Deleted scenes
  • Gag reel

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Adam Sandler - Dave Buznik
       Jack Nicholson - Dr. Buddy Rydell
       Marisa Tomei - Linda
       Luis Guzman - Lou
       Allen Covert - Andrew
       Lynne Thigpen - Judge Daniels
       Kurt Fuller - Frank Head
       Jonathan Loughran - Nate
       Krista Allen - Stacy
       January Jones - Gina
       Woody Harrelson - Galaxia
       John Turturro - Chuck
       Bobby Knight - Himself
       John McEnroe - Himself
       Rudy Giuliani - Himself
       Judith Nathan - Herself
       Tony Carbonetti - Himself
       Bob Sheppard - Himself
       Robert Merrill - Himself
       Roger Clemens - Himself
       Derek Jeter - Himself
       Adrian Ricard - Rose Rydell

• Director:

  Peter Segal

• Producer:

  Barry Bernardi, Jack Giarraputo

• Screenwriter:

  David Dorfman

• Cinematographer:

  Donald M. McAlpine

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Michael Dilbeck

• Composer (Music Score):

  Teddy Castellucci

• Editor:

  Jeff Gourson

• Production Designer:

  Alan Au

• Art Director:

  Jeff McDonald, Domenic Silvestri

• Co-producer:

  Michael Ewing, Allegra Clegg, Derek Dauchy

• Executive Producer:

  Adam Sandler, John L. Jacobs, Tim Herlihy, Allen Covert, Todd Garner

• Set Designer:

  Patricia Klawonn, Debra Schutt, Chris Spellman, Mick Cukurs, Jeffrey Beck

• Costume Designer:

  Ellen Lutter

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Thomas D. Causey

• First Assistant Director:

  John Hockridge

• Casting:

  Roger Mussenden

• Properties Master:

  Daniel Boxer

• Additional Cinematography:

  Hiro Narita

• Title Design:

  Howard A. Anderson Company

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  David Bach, Elmo Weber

• Visual Effects:

  The Orphanage

• Music Editor:

  J.J. George

REVIEW:

• As with his other films, Adam Sandler has populated Anger Management with talented character actors who have great fun with their roles. John Turturro, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, and Luis Guzman all generate laughs with throwaway lines. Their presence is welcome because at the center of the film Jack Nicholson and Sandler's chemistry fails to generate any comedic sparks. They are not phoning in their performances, but they are not quite on the same page. The big comic set pieces between the two do not have the energy that the scenes with the supporting characters have. Anger Management certainly works as an Adam Sandler vehicle. Once again he has cast himself as an essentially nice and sweet guy troubled by a large reservoir of repressed anger. He squirms in the beginning of the film when confronting people who take advantage of him, and eventually learns to let fly with some patented Sandler temper in order to show that he has a backbone. Punch-Drunk Love showed that Sandler was interested in evolving his comedic persona. This feels like an attempt to take some of what he learned from that film and make it more palatable for his core audience. Sandler fans will not be disappointed, but Anger Management hints at a better film that could have been. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi