Anger Management (PG13)

By PAUL KEAVENY

HORRENDOUS is the only way I can describe the sugary, all-American and vomit-enducing ending to the new Adam Sandler film Anger Management.

Which is a shame because the rest of the film is moderately entertaining and funny due to the talents of the ever-grinning Jack Nicholson and a very strong supporting cast.

It's a story about Dave Buznik (Sandler) who has been a doormat all his life and who is made to do an anger management course after an incident of 'air rage.'

He is innocent of the charge but has to complete the course so he can get his life back and stop his girlfriend, the lovely Marisa Tomei, from leaving him.

His brilliant but maverick psychoanalyst Dr Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), author of the self-help book Know Buddy Cares, spends the majority of the film getting him to face his repressed anger demons by inciting Buznik to more and more outrageous confrontations.

Nicholson is always worth watching and the rest of his anger management encounter group includes great performances from Luis Guzman and John Turturro playing fellow ferocity junkies.

Predictable

It's all very predictable stuff though and the charmless Sandler goes about his usual 'frustrated loser gets a bit shouty then learns more about himself' routine in the customary way.

The sequence on the plane at the start of the film is clever post 9/11 observational comedy but the annoying, saccharine soaked ending betrays all that has come before.

However Sandler fans, if there are any, will love it because it's probably the best film he's ever been in.

Funny moments but the ending made me angry. 6/10