Review: Anger Management - Season One

Review by James Arthur Armstrong

Anger Management is Charlie Sheen’s comeback show after his very public downfall and sacking from his hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. As comebacks go, this is as good as Charlie Sheen was going to get. He plays a therapist trying to come to terms with his own anger issues and his failed career as a baseball player.

In Two and a Half Men, Sheen’s character was a selfish womaniser. In Anger Management, Sheen plays a character who in the past was a selfish womaniser. Not exactly inspired writing. The main difference between Two and a Half Men and Anger Management is there aren’t as many laughs this time, or should I say, a lot less. There seems to be a lot of American sitcoms these days that are all built from the same blueprint, and unfortunately (and I say that loosely) Anger Management falls into that category. It’s uninspired, messy and lacks any ambition.

It does have moments of hope, but they are few and far between. The supporting cast don’t have enough screen time to get their characters across. Instead they dwindle in the background, and pop up occasionally with one liners that are either not funny or simply evidence of them screeching at one another. The writing allows Sheen to use the supporting cast as mere vehicles for him to bounce his bland character off.

The story structure in several episodes is a little chaotic, especially the episode where a lover from the past shows up. Throughout the episode, Sheen tries to convince her she wasn’t a one night stand, and pretends to be in a relationship with her to impress his family and patients. It’s simply not a believable storyline.

The news from America is that this show has been commissioned for a further 100 episodes. The only good thing about that news is those 100 episodes cannot be as woeful as this episode.

Overall, this sitcom is too much of a Frankenstein’s monster to be a big hit for Sheen. Creator Bruce Helford has tried to take other successful sitcoms like Sheen’s previous effort, and mould them into some kind of comedy showcase. In reality, what we are given is a comedy that lacks ambition, humour and is merely a platform for Charlie Sheen to keep himself relevant.

* *

DVD Review: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Movie

Mike Nelson and his robot companions watch and give us their humourous opinions on the B-Movie, This Island Earth. The evil scientist, Dr. Clayton Forrester, has created an evil scheme that he believes will help him succeed in his quest for world domination, but first he plans on tormenting Mike Nelson and his robot friends. He makes them sit through a stinker of a film, a film he believes will drive them to insanity.

For people who aren’t aware of Mystery Science Theater 3000, it was an American cult comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson that ran from 1988 to 1999. The television series focused on a man, Mike Nelson, and his sidekick robot buddies, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. On a weekly basis they were forced by evil scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester to watch shockingly bad B-Movies. To stay sane, Nelson and his robot buddies provide running commentary during the film, making fun of its flaws and wise cracking, or riffing as it is known as. This style of comedy is now commonly known as movie theater peanut gallery. During it’s eleven year existence, Mystery Science Theater 3000 gained critical acclaim, as well as a phenomenal cult following, produced 198 episodes and received two Emmy Award nominations.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was ahead of it’s time. It brought a fresh approach to underground cable comedy in the United States. Since the dawn of the DVD, we are now accustomed to having the option of listening to more serious and insightful commentary from the director, producer, editor, or actor. Mystery Science Theater 3000 created a genre of comedy based of a simple concept years before the DVD was even thought about. This simple concept has always existed ever since the existence of cinema. We are all guilty of picking flaws when watching what we believe to be awful films. We can’t help it, it’s in our nature. The enjoyable aspect behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 is it picks out flaws but doesn’t crucify the film, it’s not a malicious attack. You can still enjoy the gobbledygook of the film in question just as much as the riffing.

In 1996, in the height of it’s popularity, Jim Mallon produced and directed this movie spin off. The theatrical release kept the same format as the television series and was released to cult success. Although, genuine sci-fi fans were a little disheartened that Mallon chose This Island Earth as the subject of Mike Nelson and his robots pals riffing material. Those sci-fi fans believe This Island Earth is a legitimate sci-fi classic, but it didn’t stop the encouragement of the long time Mystery Science Theater fans. This is a unique film that should be given a go by any film fan. It won’t be to everyones taste, but a whole heap of fun can be had with it and you’ll find yourself joining in with your own wise cracks.

* * * 1/2

Review: The Sitter

A college student on suspension is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him. The Sitter certainly isn’t a novel premise. Unfortunately, almost from the start, the comedy tails off into the cliched territory with crass humour that is predictable and lacking any form of orginality. Sam Rockwell, as the psychotic drug dealer, delivers the most memorable moment in the film that stands above anything else. The end of the film seems a little forced, leaving the audience feeling short-changed after sitting (no pun intended) through 80 minutes of this uninspired comedy.

* *