The most palatable of Adam Sandler’s movies. Which isn’t saying a lot.

Written by David Dorfman
Directed by Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Nutty Professor II, Naked Gun 33 1/3)

Jack Nicholson Buddy Rydell
Marisa Tomei Linda
Adam Sandler Dave Buznik
Allen Covert Andrew
Kurt Fuller Frank Head
Luis Guzman Lou
Krista Allen Tina
January Jones Gina
John Turturro Chuck

Adam Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a mild-mannered executive assistant at a pet product co., who is wrongly accused of assaulting a ill-tempered flight attendant, and sentenced to an anger management program, where he discovers that his instructor, Buddy Rydell (Jakc Nicholson) is a crazy psycho with his own serious anger management problem.

For the most part, I can’t stand any of Adam Sandler’s movies. But some reason, I had a hunch when I saw the trailer for this one that it might not be as bad. For one thing, his movies are usually characterized by the type of moronic, unfunny humor that grade-schoolers engage in. For another, he often plays an obnoxious, unlikable character who kicks ass a lot more than I think Adam Sandler can. And then there’s the obsession with bodily fluids that features so heavily in his movies. But the trailer for this one looked to be slightly different for several reasons: 1. Jack Nicholson’s in it. 2. Adam plays a somewhat obsequious milquetoast character, the one whom the entire movie seems to be against, and for whom nothing goes right, much like Henry Winkler’s character in Night Shift and Ben Stiller’s in Meet the Parents.

My hunch was not far off, and there are some genuinely funny moments (the one about Chuck’s military service chief among them), none of which involve bodily fluids. I was actually rooting for Adam Sandler for the first time ever in a movie. One of the movie’s strengths is that Buddy is so unpredictable and manic, that we never know what he’s going to do next, and we cringe as we see him screw up Dave’s life further and further, his rants and schemes often vacillating between psychotic fits where he gets Dave into fistfights with Buddhist monks, and flashes of brilliance where he reveals that some huge disaster in Dave’s life was an orchestrated plan that he set up to help him with his therapy. Another strength is the numerous cameos by various people, some famous actors in character, and some real-life people as themselves. (I won’t spoil all the cameos for you, but while most are funny, Woody Harrelson’s is deeply disturbing. That’s all I’ll say about that.) There are also some plot twists here and there, especially at the end.

But many of the "jokes" fall flat, or are just plain disturbing, and there are long stretches where the movie drags in spots. Possibly the biggest flaw in the script is that Dave has Marisa Tomei for a girlfriend. It’s kinda hard to feel sorry for the guy when he has a beautiful and caring girlfriend right off the bat. The movie follows the cliché of "The loveable schmoe who gets stepped on throughout the movie gets the girl at the end," but it’s kinda hard to do that when he already has a hot babe like Tomei right from the beginning of the movie. They should’ve had him single, and have him end up getting her only at the end. Then again, that wouldn’t fit with the plot point at the end of the movie, but hey, at least I wasn’t compelled to walk out, like in previous Sandler flicks.

Bottom line, I say this is a middle of the road movie. Some might like it, though Sandler fans will probably gobble it up.

NITS:
When Dave and Buddy get to Boston, Dave is seen using his cell phone, and mentioning that they didn’t have to take a five-hour trip to Boston just to find out that Buddy’s mom was getting a boob job. Problem is, he’s calling from the ramp staircase of Alfred Lerner Hall at Columbia University, which is in New York City, not Boston.

When Dave confronts Arnie Shankman, and makes a joke at the expense of Buddha’s weight, Arnie tells him not to make fun of his god. Buddha was not a god, nor is he worshipped as such by Buddhists.

The most palatable? So you didn't like Punch-Drunk Love? Or do you count that as a Paul Thomas Anderson movie instead? Just curious.

Didn't see it. But yeah, I am talking about the movies that Sandler writes and/or produces, not the projects of other more serious moviemakers that he happens to star in.

"...not the projects of other more serious moviemakers that he happens to star in."

Oh yeah, like there's a lot of those. :-T

So movies that he stars in aren't considered Adam Sandler movies. Right...

Anyway, I saw it today (or yesterday anyway). I thought that it was hilarious romp, the best Sandler comedy in years. I felt myself sympathizing for Sandler's character throughout the movie as he kept getting the bad end of every situation. Something just seemed wrong about the court's decision every time. That was explained though. Some great twists in this one and plenty of laughs.

My only nit:
I know that he's a U.S. Marshal and everything but would he really be able to bring a taser onto the plane?

JoshM: So movies that he stars in aren't considered Adam Sandler movies. Right..
Luigi Novi: I didn't say that.

Not bad, not bad. Nicholson seems to be enjoying himself even if the role isn't much of a stretch. Marisa Tomei is wasted (and appears to be infinitely patient). Sandler is fine in what could be a very disturbing "Punch Drunk Love" style character if this wasn't a comedy.

The film seems to think that testicle jokes are funny (most aren't, at least in this film anyway) for a good portion of its humor, but there are some hilarious scenes--John Turturro continues to split his time between Coen/Sandler films, and the John C. Reilly-as-Buddhist monk scene is fairly classic. Heather Graham's scene has a nice payoff and beginning but is very very pointless.

There's also a listless dramatic shape. Knowing that almost everyone is "in" on it sort of takes the punch out of some of the scenes (I really wanted to see more of the creepy side of Buddy). The film moves fast enough though so that a lot of these criticisms become moot.

The cameoes range from the funny (Roger Clemens proves to be a Buddy Rydell disciple, Robert Merrill is not the person to mess with), to the ludicrously goofy (Bobby Knight), to the charming (no matter what lines he's mouthing, Rudy Guiliani adds a touch of authenicity), to the disturbing (WOODY HARRELSON--NOOOOO!), to the pointles (John McEnroe).

In the end, it's harmless entertainment. And if you ever want to hear Jack Nicholson/Adam Sandler duet on "I Feel Pretty," then go ahead and by all means, watch.

SPOILER ALERT!
Okay, just how can you get a famous author, a judge, and a flight attendant to set-up Adam Sandler in such a ridiculous fiasco? A judge cannot use a courtroom (along with baliffs during regular business hours) to pull-off such a scam. Moreover, when he was arrested for the fight in the bar, there is no guarantee he would have been brought-up before the same judge.
Also, at the end, even if Guliani wanted Sandler to speak, MLB would never allow him to come over the loudspeakers - much less be released. Finally, the Yankees under league rule would definitely press charges for disrupting a MLB game.
I thought this one started out good, but degenerated into a typical SNL movie starring Sandler.