MovieFreak.com - "Anger Management" Special Edition DVD Review by John Teves

DVD REVIEW

Anger Management - Special Edition (2003)

Starring: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei

Director: Peter Segal

Rating: PG-13

Distributor: Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

Release Date: September 16, 2003
Review posted: September 16, 2003

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by John Teves

Synopsis

The unlikely pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson drives this wacky comedy about gentle businessman Dave Buznik (Sandler), who finds himself in anger management counseling after a dispute on an airplane. When his therapist, Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), moves into his house and turns out to have some anger management issues of his own, the normally mild-mannered Buznik just might be driven to the brink of insanity after all.

Critique

I suspected that ANGER MANAGEMENT might have been a funnier film if the PG-13 rating did not apply, but nonetheless Adam Sandler fans will get exactly what they expected in this film. The script literally takes the position of a brainless film that actually isn’t as meaningless as it appears. Sandler and Nicholson have raised the prescribed amount of laughter from what we’re used to and have handed over material that is unlike previous Sandler films.

Though the comedy may carry a few scenes that can sway us to ask why there weren’t many pertinent sequences, the entire journey is enjoyable enough to let some of that belligerence slide. Some of the jokes and witticism don’t work tremendously well, but more often than not I did crack a smile here and there and even spotted a few rowdy laughs.

What can one expect – it’s an Adam Sandler film. So while it isn’t entirely intelligent as a film, it’s still actually progressed a distance from some of Sandler’s other features, which single-handedly is somewhat surprising.

The Video

ANGER MANAGEMENT appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. For the most part the video transfer provided a positive picture. Sharpness was adequate. The movie presented reasonably crisp and concise visual presentation, and I noticed no signs of softness or fuzziness during the wider shots. I detected some signs of jagged edges and shimmering, with a little edge enhancement at times. As for print flaws, the movie displayed no major problems a, speckles and grit but even those were hardly noticeable. Colors were solid; the film remained bright and vivid throughout the presentation. Black levels were fine, while shadow appeared thick appropriately clear. Overall a nice video transfer.

The Audio

ANGER MANAGEMENT is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. As any one would expect from a comedy, the soundfield remained largely focused toward the forward speakers. In that respect, the audio displayed reasonably stereo spread for the score and it also showed acceptable activity for ambient effects. Those elements blended together cleanly and created a fairly solid ambient setting. Some occasional effects popped with the rear speakers, but for the most part those channels mostly offered light reinforcement of the front domain. Nonetheless, the track remained heavily oriented toward front. Audio quality was fine. Speech came across natural and distinct. The music sounded excellent with nice bass. The track displayed a clear and accurate presentation at all times. Overall, the soundtrack for ANGER MANAGEMENT was engaging and worked well for the material at hand.

The Extras

Commentary by Adam Sandler and Peter Segal
Theatrical trailer(s)
Four Deleted Scenes
Blooper Reel
"My Buddy, Jack" Featurette
"Skull Session" Featurette
"Do You Have Anger Problems?" set-top game

Overall

The DVD offers good picture and audio along with a set of enjoyable extras. This DVD is a good purchase for the folks who love Sandler. For everyone else a rental will do.

John Teves rates the film 3 out of 4.

Review originally appeared on DVDFreak.net

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

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