Take Three: Anger Management

Anger Management: Season 1, Episode 4 “Charlie and Kate Battle Over a Patient” (B+)

This show continues to be greatly amusing as it utilizes the full breadth of its ensemble for comedic effect. Showcasing Ed’s racism and Patrick’s tendency towards drama made for an entertaining half-hour that also underlined the professional rivalry between Charlie and Kate. Correcting her reference to the namesake of a technique was a dangerous move, and she didn’t take it kindly. Her end-of-episode appearance in which she offered up either an apology or sex, but not both, was terrific, and I like that Charlie is supposed to be a generally intelligent individual. He doesn’t spar just with his current love interest, of course, since he still wants to compete with his ex-wife for the role of the better parent. Bringing over a romance novel wasn’t bright on her part, and his reaction to Sam saying that she would wait until she was 25 to have sex just like her mother was perfect. It’s perhaps a bit disturbing that this young group was discussing sex so openly and freely, but no lines were crossed and this is an FX show, after all. I’m continually impressed by this show’s frequent invocation of innuendos in a far less obvious and piercing manner than Sheen’s former series. The prison therapy scenes are also good for a few laughs, even though the inmates, as can be expected, are extremely over-the-top. It works well, however, to have both of the groups present to see how Charlie acts differently with both of them and how he interacts with each of the individual group members.