MovieChat Forums > Anger Management (2003) Discussion > 'uncomfortable' humour (spoilers)

'uncomfortable' humour (spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by jimmyjameson8
8 replies | jump to latest

I'll start by saying I thought this was a well done movie. Jack was great, love all the Sandler regulars and random cameos(Turturro, Allen Covert, Harrelson, Courdry, John C Reilly etc), and Sandler himself played the straight man very well.

That said, I cannot stand this style of comedy. I just feel uncomfortable, and angry at the people unjustly antagonizing Sandler (even though it turned out to be a ruse). As funny as some of the some of the situations were, the feeling that Sandler was gonna get screwed somehow at the end of the scene kind of ruined it.

Except for the anger support group (Guzman, Turturo..), there's very few jokes or gags in this comedy, just situational-based humour.

There's a string of Stiller movies like this: Meet the Parents, Heartbreak Kid, Something about Mary. Just a situation gone wrong, and things keep getting slightly worse. Usually the scene ends in ultimate humiliation/awkwardness for the protagonist.

Come to think of it, maybe it's just all comedies where the straight man is the main character.

To sum up, I wanted to like this movie, I like everything about it, but this style of comedy just isn't enjoyable to watch.

Thoughts?

[–] Prismark10 11 years ago

I find these types of film do not stand up to repeated viewing and there is little comedy.

Its that man again!!

[–] joe_538 10 years ago

I'm cool with it, I grew up watching Wile E. Coyote suffer endless indignities while trying to catch a meal.

[–] jimmyjameson8 10 years ago

Ha! Apt comparison.

[–] IMDB_Vits 10 years ago

I hear you. I enjoyed watching this a 2nd time much more because I knew about the set-up.

There's a string of Stiller movies like this: Meet the Parents, Heartbreak Kid, Something about Mary.

The difference is that, in those movies, his character simply had bad luck. Except THE HEARTBREAK KID, in which some of the bad things were his fault. But this movie, at first, seemed like one of those mean-spirited surreal sketches were everyone does weird things to screw the main character without even realizing it.

[–] joebuck3 10 years ago

I don't know, IMDB. I think that 'Meet The Parents' and this are thematically quite similar.
In MTP, de Niro really is a bit of a psycho and most of the family friends are unpleasant *beep* Stiller has bad luck, but it all comes from trying too hard to please unreasonable people who should be the ones making much more of an effort with him. Things end up OK when he finally says "*beep* it" and stands up for himself a bit. Same with Sandler's character here.
If the two comedies have a 'message', it's that there are a lot of arrogant *beep* around who like to walk all over mild-mannered nice guys and that the nice guys should stand up for themselves a bit more.

This one does do a good job of making you very uncomfortable with all the humiliation that is being piled on the likeable hero. I think it's very well done but agree with jimmy that it's nicer to watch the second time around, when you know for sure that it's all a set-up.

Nicholson is brilliant. Somehow he manages to come across as smooth and even weirdly-professional while acting and sounding like a madman and getting Sandler into insane situations. Not many actors could have played the part that well and he showed that he's a terrific comedy performer. Sandler is great too. Taking into account that the whole situation is comedically surreal, he's very convincing as the smart and personable good guy who comes out with some acid quips but is resigned to being pushed around because of circumstances, before he takes control at the end.

[–] ShinjiNishizono (21) 5 years ago

Good points. Completely agreed.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Maybe you are as stuck as Sandler's character, and maybe you NEED as much 'discomfort' as possible to start YOUR path towards enlightenment.

Would you rather be 'safe' from everything (including humor like this), or would you rather go deeper into the mystery of life and learn a thing or two about who you really are?

I look at this movie as a path from materialistic, small-minded, unhappy anger, fighting against self, other people, the Universe and even the truth - towards harmonious, spiritually cultivated, elevated and truly happy state of being - an enlightened true humanity with every day being joyous and fun.

This path can't happen without a few bumps along the way, a few nudges and shakes towards the right direction. A Zen master isn't avoiding cruel and almost inhumane methods, if it gets his student to become enlightened for the rest of their existence.

What is a little pain, when the end result is better than anything previously imagined?

This movie, in a way, is an exaggerated metaphor for life itself - life teaches us just as 'seemingly uncaringly' - we may lose hours worth of work in a blink of an eye (happened to me recently), we may stomp our toe or get caught in the rain or bus might come late, or not at all, and you might miss your connection, people might reject or insult you.

But it will be worth it in the end. In this movie, the 'life' is just compressed into a very short period of time, but if you think of this movie's 'discomfort' being spread to multiple incarnations, you can see how it works.

Life makes us uncomfortable - that's how all meaningful teaching works. You can't learn anything by staying strictly within your comfort zone! You have to go out, take risks and adventure a little, if you are to grow spiritually and learn anything valuable!

If you can't do this byself, it's GOOD that there's someone to shake you or kick you forward, force you to face your fears and 'discomfort' and that way, give you a better life in the end.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

So I say; EMBRACE the 'discomfort', face your fears, numb yourself to 'uncomfortable' things, so they don't even face you anymore!

Which would you rather be; someone that can handle discomfort, or someone doomed to always run away from it?