| Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley | | | | Writing by Tom Schulman, and garnered three |
| Here are four average movies that do not get | | | | other Academy nominations: Robin Williams for |
| any better the second time around: | | | | Best Actor, Peter Weir for Best Director and |
| Anger Management - 2 Stars (Average) | | | | Best Picture. |
| Anger Management brings young Adam Sandler | | | | The Emperor's Club was not even noticed at |
| together with old Jack Nicholson in a dippy | | | | awards time. |
| comedy that borders on a romantic comedy | | | | The Fast and the Furious - 2 Stars (Average) |
| without the dramatic bent. | | | | The Fast and the Furious is an action flick for |
| Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is a businessman | | | | guys featuring street car racing, macho wannabe |
| who is wrongly sentenced to an | | | | men and mindless activity that sends a terrible |
| anger-management program following an incident | | | | message to every mixed up teenager who is out |
| on airline flight, but insult is added to injury when | | | | of control and looking for trouble. |
| Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), an aggressive, | | | | Yes, the cars are great, yes, the race scenes are |
| unorthodox therapist, becomes his live in | | | | terrific for a fantasy world, and no, this film has |
| roommate during rehabilitation. | | | | no redeeming quality worth talking about. It is, in a |
| This film is dominated by Nicholson, has a script | | | | word, stupid, and glorifies a stupid activity. |
| that begs for better lines, and becomes annoying | | | | The Fast and the Furious picked up some minor |
| after awhile, which is very similar to Nicholson's | | | | awards for cinematography and music, but lacks |
| character in the movie. I am not altogether sure | | | | substance and gets low marks for bad behavior. |
| this movie would not have been better if the | | | | Save your money on the sequel. |
| roles of Nicholson and Sandler were reversed. | | | | Five Easy Pieces - 2 Stars (Average) |
| Imagine Nicholson as a problematic, | | | | Five Easy Pieces was made in 1970 and 36 years |
| anger-management reprobate (not hard to do) | | | | later has become a cult film in the sense that it |
| and Sandler as a recent psychiatrist grad about to | | | | engenders a misplaced or excessive admiration |
| deal with his first real patient (easy to do). I | | | | because of an actor named Jack Nicholson and a |
| propose this because I felt very little chemistry | | | | restaurant scene that suggests humor but |
| between Nicholson and Sandler as they were cast. | | | | exhibits rage. |
| Anger Management is not a film I would see | | | | Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) is a successful |
| twice under any circumstances. Apparently a lot | | | | classical pianist from a well-to-do family who |
| of judges felt the same way as awards were | | | | becomes a worthless piece of nothing on his way |
| really absent for this effort. | | | | to nowhere about 1,000 miles an hour. Dupea |
| The Emperor's Club - 2 Stars (Average) | | | | becomes one troubled and sad person who ends |
| The Emperor's Club reminds me of the aspirations | | | | up as a trashy oil rigger. |
| of people starting out in life and the | | | | Dupea surrounds himself with enough |
| disappointment that inevitably comes when forcing | | | | dysfunctional people to field a basketball team. |
| one's ideas upon another. | | | | One of Dupea's lines in the movie says a lot: "I |
| William Hundert (Kevin Kline) is a passionate and | | | | move around a lot, not because I'm looking for |
| principled classics professor who finds his world | | | | anything really, but 'cause I'm getting away from |
| challenged when a new student, Sedgewick Bell | | | | things that get bad if I stay." Dupea just needs to |
| (Emile Hirsch), comes into his class. A battle of | | | | grow up and stop feeling sorry for himself; he |
| wills ensues. | | | | simply cannot come to terms with life and what it |
| The Emperor's Club needed a better script and | | | | has to offer. |
| suffered from the lack of a female presence. | | | | Nicholson does a great job with his role in the film |
| Who wants to watch a bunch of guys being | | | | (he gets his second Oscar nomination for Best |
| smart asses? This gets to be about as interesting | | | | Actor), but the script, story, ending and |
| as watching flour turn brown. | | | | everything else about Five Easy Pieces is negative |
| The Emperor's Club was not unlike the Dead | | | | and worthless. The message of the film is just a |
| Poet's Society with Robin Williams as English | | | | sad, sorry excuse for living. |
| professor John Keating, except Williams does a | | | | Nicholson becomes a major force in acting during |
| better acting job than Kline. | | | | Five Easy Pieces. He goes on to earn no less than |
| The message of The Emperor's Club is negative | | | | 2 Best Actor Oscars (One Flew Over the |
| and undermining; the message of Dead Poet's | | | | Cuckoo's Nest and As Good As It Gets), 1 Best |
| Society is uplifting and encouraging. | | | | Supporting Actor Oscar (Terms of Endearment) |
| Dead Poet's Society earned an Oscar for Best | | | | and no less than 9 other Best Actor nominations. |