Anger Management

Bearded and bearish Jack Nicholson hams it up as volatile, highly unconventional therapist Dr. Buddy Rydell, and Adam Sandler co-stars as progressively flustered patient Dave Buznik in a broad comedy that only occasionally rises above mediocrity. The premise of mild-mannered Dave being convicted for an airplane altercation and sucked into a justice system in which he may lose his sanity and his girlfriend (Marisa Tomei in a throwaway role) is promising at the beginning and then flattens into repetition. This “the patient is running the asylum” romp then makes a futile turn into a glut of cameos (Woody Harrelson, John McEnroe, Rudy Giuliani and John C. Reilly) to resuscitate the script’s initial spark. Directed by Peter Segal (Tommy Boy and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps).