Dave Buznik is probably the first Adam Sandler character in recent memory who actually doesn't need anger management therapy. Jack Nicholson, whose stardom has lasted so long precisely because of his buoyant charisma, has never played a character as utterly obnoxious as anger management therapist Dr. Buddy Rydell. These ironies at the center of Anger Management are not springboards for constant hilarity; rather, they make the audience angry at such careless miscasting.

Sandler and Nicholson are both fresh off milestone performances -- Sandler, from his best performance ever in Punch-Drunk Love and Nicholson from his About Schmidt turn, one of the best performances in his own considerably more illustrious career. Thus, it is as incomprehensible why they agreed to do Anger Management as it is that a whole slew of celebrities also signed on to do self-deprecating cameos. Certainly every "laugh" in first-time screenwriter David Dorfman's stubbornly asinine script is generated either by these surprise cameos, although, by the fifth such cameo, the surprise factor has somewhat played itself out. And by the standard Sandler-slapstick, the movie also tires itself out quickly.

The plot is not even worth discussing, as it contradicts itself in a ridiculous twist ending anyway. But it should be noted there is a half-baked love story angle between Sandler and Marisa Tomei, yet another Oscar winner whose talents are wasted here. This odd attempt by the filmmakers at justifying Anger Management as an uplifting and agonizingly hokey romantic comedy is probably the most banal element of this creatively challenged movie. The best anger management advice I can offer is to avoid wasting five dollars on this garbage.

-- Reviewed by Nicholas Norcia