A Quick Movie Review

Before I get to the business of the long entry I have planned for later, I thought I'd send you this short one.

I saw "Anger Management" yesterday afternoon with my brother, Keith. Anger Management is the latest Adam Sandler extravaganza but he gets completely overshadowed by the talent of Jack Nicholson. This comes as no surprise to anyone.

I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more had I been in a better mood. Objectively, I'd say it rates about a 6-7. It has funny moments, but...

First of all, anyone who doesn't see the ending coming in the first ten minutes isn't paying attention. I know you don't see these kinds of movies for something new and fresh - it's the same, old Sandler jokes we've been hearing for ten years - but I need a little bit more to be entertained. And, while on the subject of fresh, can these jokes be any more tired? My god!

Next, Sandler recycles so many jokes and smug, indulgent references to his previous movies that I found myself cringing. I know the true talents never get disgustingly rich, so I'm not complaining about that, but he could have done so much better.

Sandler does the same routine as in his other films, the same faces, the same everything. Granted, he has a formula that works for him and I don't hold that against him. But put him next to Nicholson and you begin to wonder why Sandler is there - even the supporting cast was more alive than this guy. Talk about phoning in a performance!

Lastly, once Sandler (via his writers) began to insult Buddhism, he lost me completely. It's one thing to insult something if you know something about it but these guys didn't even bother to do their homework. "Don't insult my God," one character says when a crack against Buddha is made (a well-delivered crack on Nicholson's part, by the way). Anyone who knows anything about Buddhism knows that Buddha has never been interpreted as a God. It just goes downhill from there.

You see, Keith brought me to help cheer me up.

He and I still have a lot to learn about each other.