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David’s VOD Review: ‘The Angriest Man in Brooklyn’ is a complete and utter dud

One might think that a film with a cast as great as The Angriest Man in Brooklyn made up of Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, and Robin Williams in a leading role, could be at its worst, entertaining. You would be wrong. DEAD WRONG.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn follows Henry (Williams), a man in a perpetual state of anger towards everything and everyone. Sharon (Kunis) is an equally stress-induced young doctor. Sharon is needed as a replacement for Henry’s normal doctor at a medical check-up, and his sour impatience brings her to her boiling point. Sharon lies and tells Henry that he has a serious brain aneurysm and that he will die within 90 minutes. At first skeptical then frightened, Henry swiftly leaves the hospital with the intention of making amends with everyone he has wronged in his life before his 90 minutes are up. Panicked, Sharon searches the streets of New York accompanied by Henry’s brother, Aaron (Dinklage), searching for Henry after discovering that due to his actual diagnosis, Henry really could die at any moment.

This movie is so predictable that I can say with 95% certainty that almost any impression about what happens in the film along with every cliché that you can possibly think solely from reading the synopsis is probably correct.

I tend to characterize the movies in the See Them While They Are Still In Theaters section of Verizon Fios On-Demand as any of the following: low-key indie dramas or comedies, bad horror movies, or bad comedies that draw buyers in with the name of at least one or more well-known actors. Even though The Angriest Man in Brooklyn was released into theaters as well as On-Demand, the film seems much more tailored to an On-Demand-type of audience because of the latter.

I am going to come out and say it in as straight-forward a fashion as I can: The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is really bad. Having seen a lot of good movies this year, I could smell this stinker about 20 minutes in and I wished I had stopped there. I want my money back. This movie is so painful to watch that you almost wish you had the same fate as Henry; after the 90 minutes (the film’s running time as well) are up, you die. This movie is not even the entertaining type of bad (i.e. bad to the point of being comical). That is part of the reason why this “comedy” does not work. I actually wish that there was more at the movie’s expense to laugh at. The Angriest Man in Brooklyn would have be much more memorable and be over much quicker that way.

My first criticism is directed towards the performances of Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, and Melissa Leo. Robin Williams over-acts to the point of no return. He is vulgar, annoying, and cringe-worthy in every single scene he is in. Every single word and face he made me want to punch him. Let me make it clear that Robin Williams happens to be one of my favorite actors. Knowing this, you can understand the amount of wincing I did throughout this movie.

Another thing that it hurts me to do is criticize Mila Kunis; I have a soft spot for Kunis and usually find that she is a charming actor. The time has come for to fess up and say her performance is far from good in The Angriest Man in Brooklyn. Kunis’ character, Sharon, starts off as remotely interesting. She is cracking under the stress of her job and trying to cope with the small tragedies of her everyday life, such as her cat’s suicide. The last part is pretty ridiculous, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief and get behind her character. Yet as the film drags on, Kunis becomes blander and blander and next thing you know, Kunis is just like the audience. She does not care about her performance in the slightest.

Moving forward, Melissa Leo over-acts to the point of melodrama in the few scenes she appears in. An obnoxious impression creeps upon you while watching Leo act. The impression is that she is just screaming for another Oscar win for this movie. This makes no sense, and her performance becomes out of tone with the rest of the movie seeing as it is a mainstream “comedy.” She almost makes Bradley Cooper’s freak-out scene in American Hustle seem poignant. It is a shame to see Leo stoop to such an all-time-low acting-wise considering her fierce and emotional performance in The Fighter.